Full Moon
by Apprentice Witch
Summary: "A talking meowth cannot and must not exist." Hearing this, Giovanni 'acquires' the talking meowth for himself. Eventually, it's discovered that Meowth's existence might backfire on Team Rocket, and the rocket boss needs to consider if his minion is valuable enough to keep or eliminate it.
1. Giovanni and Persian

_Author's Notes_  
_First pokemon fanfic I've published here to __**not**__ be part of my established AU, but still definitely an AU. Also, I would definitely __**not**__ describe this as 'grimdark', but there are still some definite darker and violent parts of the story later, so I've gone ahead and rated it T right away._

* * *

**Full Moon**

**1**  
**Giovanni and Persian**

Meowth climbed on the roof in the dark, frowning. Not even the bright light of the full moon in view could cheer it up. So, it was now a freak. Meowth had been repeating this in its head over and over again for hours, feeling worse and worse each time. It was embarrassing to think that it had gone though so much effort, only to be smirked at, mocked and eventually just ignored. Meowth couldn't forget that kind of humiliation, made worse by the fact that it had thought things would go so much differently.

It stood out now, didn't it? Though there were a lot of meowth around, as one that spoke and imitated a human, it was now different from just any other meowth on the street. But that wasn't really a good thing, Meowth considered. The attention Meowth got wasn't the kind it wanted.

Meowth stared up at the appealing round sphere that was the moon. The same as Meowth had, the moon had slowly changed over the days, appearing as first a sliver and then rounder and rounder, until it shone brightest in the wonderful shaped it appeared now. Well, Meowth considered, the moon would lose its brightness over the days, eventually becoming the new moon which could float in the sky unnoticed.

Just like the moon changed, Meowth could also change back to what it was before. Not a 'freak', but a normal meowth. It hadn't been adequate then, but it had at least been normal, Meowth thought. So it would change itself back easily. Changing back to what was natural would be easier than the opposite, wouldn't it? Meowth vowed to do that, sitting down as a normal Meowth would, rather than the way it can grown used to. This wasn't so hard, was it?

Meowth climbed down from the roof, feeling better until it realized that it had landed standing up straight, the same as an human.

* * *

This was going to take practice, just like it had to change to imitate a human, Meowth realized. The next day, it walked along its four legs, trying to blend in with the rest of the random street pokemon. Unfortunately, that kind of appearance came with its own problems. "Stupid stray," a man passing by Meowth said. "Get out of here, your group is mucking up this place!"

Meowth saw the foot swinging toward it, then jumped out of the way, again landing on its two hind legs. "Watch it! You keep away from me!" Meowth warned, holding out its front paws in a warning.

The man who had casually kicked at Meowth now stood up straighter, a shiver running through him. "What?!" he said, taking a step back. "That's creepy!"

The man still glanced back at Meowth several times as he walked away, then picking up the pace when he was at a distance. Meowth couldn't be pleased. The situation was better than being attacked, but Meowth didn't want to think that it was too 'creepy' or 'freakish' to be around any other humans or pokemon, either. Meowth forced itself back onto four feet, then began to walk forward again.

Going further down the street, Meowth reached its goal. The market with its favorite kind of fish. It might have to try some place else later, as this was indoors and therefore more difficult to steal from. Still, Meowth wanted to treat itself, and looked hungrily at even the drawing of fish displayed in the window. The owner looked across the way at Meowth, glaring warily.

Meowth walked down the street as if it hadn't been thinking of going in the building and helping itself to some of the delicious food inside. But then it crossed the street, doubling back, the possibility of this food still the first thing on its mind. It approached the store, still walking on its four paws, under the window so the owner wouldn't be able to see it. Meowth approached the door, and looked up at the handle, thinking it would need to be opened first.

Meowth had been about to stand up to try and open it. No, that wouldn't work, Meowth realized. This particular type of knob wasn't compatible with its paws. Besides, standing up would be something that a 'freak' meowth did, not the kind of meowth that it wanted to be.

So, it would just have to wait until the door was opened, the same as it had many times before. Meowth sat and waited. A customer approached, reaching for the doorknob. He would open it, Meowth realized with excitement.

But first the man looked down at Meowth. "Shoo!" he said. Again, a boot was swung its way, but this time, Meowth just ran off on four legs without comment, starting to become frustrated. Moving on, Meowth meandered back to in front of the shop, looking intently at the door. As the now departing customer swung the door open, this time paying no mind to Meowth, Meowth considered running in. Then it had another idea.

"Hey! Delivery! I'll just leave it over here!" Meowth shouted. As it predicted, the owner came running out. As he looked around for where the delivery or deliverer might be, Meowth dashed in unnoticed by his feet.

On the counter, there was a delicious looking fish, which the owner had apparently been wrapping. Almost too convenient! Meowth excitedly stepped on the stool, then reached up its front paws, pulling the fish off the counter.

Oops, Meowth thought, it shouldn't have done that. Not one but two mistakes just with this one plan. But if it could use its abilities to an advantage, why shouldn't it? Meowth could hardly feel upset with itself as it looked at its much desired prize, then snatched it up, pushing open the door and running out. "Hey!" the owner shouted as he saw.

Meowth ran now, carrying the fish in its front two paws as it ran with its back two legs. The person Meowth had stolen from ran behind it, shouting, but Meowth just kept running, feeling elated. If it hadn't gained this skill of walking upright, the prize would be more difficult to carry in just its mouth. It had gotten better running this way, too. Now Meowth just needed to get away, then it could properly enjoy what it had earned.

Just when Meowth had gotten ahead, there was a crowd in its way. The darkly dressed group piled out of a building. Meowth looked toward the street. A bunch of cars were driving by quickly, so it wasn't going to take a chance going that way. Maybe right through the crowd would be best, then that owner wouldn't be able to chase as easily.

Meowth leapt into the action, dodging around the feet before it got stuck. "Someone get that meowth!" Meowth's pursuer shouted.

It only had a little farther to go, Meowth saw. It tried to force its way through the crowd, pushing with one paw, and holding its fish close with the other. "What is this?" Meowth heard someone near it say. "Get out of the way!" Hearing this, Meowth found itself being the one pushed, and without meaning to, threw its fish forward.

"Ah!" Meowth cried, looking at its meal flying up and through the air. It ran forward, trying its best to catch it. Instead, it ran into someone. Just then, the fish went up and hit it in the head. "Meowth," Meowth said, briefly stunned.

Before it could get its bearings, Meowth found itself snatched up by one of the men nearby. "This thing's pretty rude! What do you think you're doing to the boss, huh?"

Meowth was thrown to the ground again. It shook its head, then looked up and around. People dressed in black uniforms adorned with a bright red 'R' surrounded it. In front, was the person Meowth had run into. Some clown in a neon-colored suit, Meowth noticed. The wet stain on his jacket made it obvious that the fish had hit him. One of the darkly-dressed goons kicked the fish to the side. Meowth let out a cry as it saw that.

"What's this?" the clown said, looking down at his outfit in disgust.

"Should we punish it, boss?" one of the other men asked, taking out a pokeball.

"No need to bother with this kind of trash," the boss said, walking forward. As he did, he also kicked Meowth's fish, off of the sidewalk and into the mud on the streets.

Meowth clenched its jaw. It still thought it could have saved its dinner, but it was done with that now. Maybe Meowth was hungry enough to go and fish the thing off the street, but its pride overcame its hunger. Meowth stood up tall and glared in the direction of the guy it had run into. "Hey!" Meowth shouted. "Hey! You, the joker over there! How about some respect for another guy's hard earned meal, huh?"

The man, just having taken off his orange jacket, turned around and faced Meowth, looking down at it with a cold, blank expression. Meowth glared back up at him, unyielding. After a few seconds, he turned away without comment. The uniformed people around him still looked at Meowth dubiously.

"What's with that thing?" one said.

"Don't you insult the boss!" another spoke.

"You'll get a punishment for that!"

Meowth saw the suspicious-looking humans beginning to surround it. It realized it was in over its head. This was some kind of gang, and these creeps probably had tons of overpowered pokemon, Meowth realized. It tried to retreat, but other humans blocked its path. Meowth's anger had faded, only be replaced with anxiety over what might happen.

"Enough!" the weirdly-dressed guy who was apparently their boss ordered. "As I just said, we don't need to waste our time."

"Yes, boss!" The mob around Meowth began to dissipate. Meowth felt some relief, though it was still tired and hungry. As the group began to walk away, Meowth sighed. At least it didn't have to worry about being attacked anymore.

Then suddenly, something went over its head. "Ah!" Meowth exclaimed. It was now in a net, lifted off of the ground. Face to face with the shop owner it often stole from, Meowth could only glare back at him.

"You naughty meowth," the shop owner said. "It might have done you some good if these hoodlums taught you a lesson! Now I'll be making sure you're out of my hair!"

Meowth said nothing. It had again called attention to itself as a freak, and for what? Still hungry, Meowth was also captured again, and would be easily identified for all of its crimes as the talking freak. Meowth frowned, sighing for a different reason as it was dragged away.

* * *

"Take care of this," Giovanni said, shoving his soiled jacket over at a random rocket grunt. He watched as the strange pokemon's pursuer carried it off. There really was no need to do anything further. They were here for recreational reasons, to build up morale and loyalty among the ranks. Giovanni shouldn't have to deal with this in the meantime, he thought, climbing into the car. Dr. Fuji took a seat beside him.

"Now that we can converse in private, please give me a full update on the project," Giovanni said. Dr. Fuji looked outside the window, his eyes still on the departing pokemon. Giovanni glared his way. "Doctor, don't try my patience," Giovanni said.

"I'm sorry," Dr. Fuji said, turning back to Giovanni. "I'm just surprised the stories were true."

"What stories?" Giovanni said.

"About the meowth."

"Are you trying to distract from the matter at hand?"

"No, sir."

"Good, then let's continue with the proper discussion," Giovanni said.

Dr. Fuji still peered back once more before turning back. "You know I'm only here to answer any questions you have at all. It's just, that meowth alone might be a valuable research subject itself."

"And why do you persist with this?" Giovanni said, frowning.

"From your basic understanding of pokemon, should a meowth like that exist?" Dr. Fugi asked. "If you consider how we use pokemon, it's because we can only imagine them as powerful tools, not having the cognizance to do things like speak. They are monsters, after all. If they spoke, it could change how we look at pokemon entirely."

"Does it really matter?" Giovanni said.

No, Dr. Fuji thought, to a person like this, it wouldn't matter. The rocket boss used humans the same as pokemon, as tools to expand his own power. "Well, there was some talk about this among researchers that I know. If they'd known there was any merit, I know they'd be here right away. So would some of the more well known pokemon professors, if nothing else than to be rid of the freak of nature. It could harm their business."

"Hmph," Giovanni said, smirking as he thought of it. Yes, some of those pokemon professors had interesting ideas about pokemon. They worked their lives to 'understand' the nature and minds of the beasts, making a profession of the mundane task. If pokemon could just speak and let everyone know on their own, that most of those professor's well thought out ideas were false, that would be trouble for them, wouldn't it? Giovanni might have something else to hold over their heads.

That was, if it didn't just parrot back what it heard. Thinking back on the encounter, Giovanni realized that it hadn't. It had gazed at Giovanni purposefully and said something related to the situation. Maybe the idea of a talking meowth was interesting after all, Giovanni thought after considering.

"Well, let's go on with the update," Dr. Fuji said. "Then, if you don't mind, I'd like to double back there and see about the meowth."

Giovanni opened the small window separating the passengers from the driver. "Stop," he said. The driver stopped right away, and everyone stepped out, Dr. Fuji looking a little confused. Giovanni turned to one of his grunts, who had also been in the front. "Take him back, and keep an eye on him." Giovanni said, motioning toward the doctor.

"Yes, boss!" the grunt said.

"Sir?" Dr. Fuji said.

"We'll have this discussion later. I have something else to take care of," Giovanni said, and climbed back into the car. It soon sped away.

* * *

"Meowth!" Meowth said by habit as it was thrown into the cage. As the door was slammed shut, it was momentarily happy that it had reacted like a normal meowth. But what good would that do now? Freak or otherwise, it was trapped here along with these other misfit pokemon. Meowth lay back, depressed but relaxing.

"Growlithe!" the other pokemon in the cage made its presence known. Meowth jumped up, now tense, knowing it had a cell mate. "Gro! Gro! Gro!" the growlithe barked, letting Meowth know just how unhappy it was with another pokemon's presence.

Meowth stood up, pushing Growlithe's head back. "Back off, bud," Meowth said, glaring at the pokemon.

"Gro..." Growlithe was momentarily surprised. "Gro! Growlithe! Growlithe!" The delinquent growlithe now let Meowth know just how much it hated all meowth, and what it would do if Meowth stepped too close to it.

"Whatever," Meowth said, but still stepped away. It just wasn't worth a fight.

Meowth sat in its corner of the cage, which seemed to grow smaller and smaller as the growlithe paced around, muttering threats. "Growlithe, growlithe..."

"Yeah, you just see what happens if you try that," Meowth said.

"Growlithe!" Growlithe shouted in surprise as the door to the room opened. "Gro! Growlithe!" it now shouted loud threats at the humans who had entered.

"Quiet," a man said as he approached the cage. He glared at the growlithe, which suddenly stopped, backing away, though it still scowled, not letting down its guard. Then Meowth looked at the person who had spoken. It was that guy again, the clown from before, Meowth realized. "Is that you?" the man said to Meowth.

"Yeah," Meowth confirmed. "What, you want to execute me yourself?"

"Hmph. Not quite." Giovanni turned from Meowth to the other human. "Yes, this is the one."

The cage door opened. Growlithe was kicked as it tried to escape, and Meowth was carried out. "Here you are, sir," the other man said, holding out Meowth.

Giovanni made no motion to take it. "It can walk on its own two feet. Can't you, Meowth?" Giovanni said, looking toward the pokemon.

"Yeah," Meowth confirmed. It didn't point out that meowth technically were supposed to be quadrupedal. Meowth only stood up on its two hind legs as it was put on the ground.

"Come with me now, Meowth," Giovanni said.

Meowth didn't know why, but followed the instructions. For some weird reason, this guy was being somewhat nice to it. He had to know that Meowth could just run away as soon as they reached the door. But even as they did, the guy hardly looked at Meowth as he opened it, then stared out into the night sky. Meowth stared up too. It became relaxed, transfixed by the moon. No matter what the reason, this was a lucky break, it thought.

"So, do you go by any other name?"

Meowth looked over at Giovanni. So, the human was still around, and acknowledging Meowth. He was even asking its name, as if Meowth were human too. Meowth just decided to respond normally. "I'm just Meowth," it said casually.

Giovanni nodded. "I suppose you're hungry then, Meowth. Come with me, I'll get you something to amend for before."

Meowth blinked in surprise. No human had ever given it even a little food willingly before. No pokemon had either, no one at all, actually. It was tempted, but still suspicious. Why was a human treating it so kindly, anyway? This guy hadn't paid it any mind before, Meowth recalled.

Giovanni began to walk forward before Meowth could respond. Meowth straightened up and followed him. Well, this guy hadn't really kicked it around on purpose, and it had been crowded. Even so, he was suspicious. A human wanting to make up for something done to a street Meowth was absolutely suspicious, but the idea of food was way too tempting for Meowth to give heed to its misgivings. It wordlessly followed Giovanni.

They came to a sandwich shop. "Go sit down, I'll get something," Giovanni said. Meowth climbed up on one of the chairs at the table, feeling tense as people stared at it. When Giovanni came back and sat across from Meowth like the pokemon sitting there was normal, the stares went away though. Giovanni placed a wrapped item in front of it.

It was a delicious fish sandwich, Meowth realized. Unlike with the uncooked fish, Meowth could eat this one with little mess. It took it into it paws like a human, then ate it in only three bites. It began to feel some relief from its hunger. Meowth sat back, a hand on its stomach, and sighed.

"Is that enough, then?"

Meowth sat up, realizing where it was. This human might have done something kind, but he was just a human. "Yeah, thanks," Meowth said, though it still looked at the man warily.

"Good. Then let's chat. I'd like to hear your story, Meowth. How did you gain such an impressive ability?" Giovanni asked.

"Um... I don't know who you think I am, but I don't have any ability like you're talking about," Meowth said sheepishly.

"Come now, Meowth. You're sitting upright across from me, speaking clearly, when no other pokemon has ever said one word."

"Most pokemon talk, I guess just not how humans can understand it," Meowth said. "I'm not that much different than them."

Giovanni blinked in surprise. This was what many people had suspected, including himself, that what pokemon said and how they communicated was some kind of 'language'. But there was no way to prove it, or at least no pattern that humans could recognize. Yes, it seemed that this Meowth was very interesting and possibly useful. "So, if you can already can speak to each other, why bother learning a human language?"

"Because I want to be human," Meowth said, with a little more intensity than it meant to, glaring up at Giovanni.

"Oh? And why would you want something like that?" Giovanni asked calmly. "Compared to pokemon, humans are fairly weak creatures."

"Even if they're weak, anyone can see that humans rule the world," Meowth said. "Meowth aren't very powerful in the first place. Why wouldn't I want to be a human?"

Giovanni shrugged. "But no matter what, you're still a pokemon," he said plainly. Hearing this, Meowth was filled with irrational anger. It knew that already, but this guy telling it to him so off-handed brought all the pain to the surface. Only humans could provide for pokemon, and it was a cast-off, unable to provide for anyone, even itself. "Is that really so bad?" Giovanni continued. "With your impressive ability, you're better off than a lot of pokemon."

"Is it really that impressive?" Meowth asked.

"Of course. You can interact with both pokemon and humans. There's no one else, pokemon or human, that I know who can do that. You would be one of few, if not the only one in the entire world," Giovanni said.

Meowth took a moment to consider that. Even if it was true, what good did would it do? Its crush had seen Meowth as just a 'freak', and a creepy one at that, as did many other pokemon and humans alike. The humans it could now talk back to just shouted back more and more insults, and were sure to punish Meowth harder for whatever it had done. "Yeah, talking with humans doesn't help me at all," Meowth explained to Giovanni.

"I think you've just not had the right opportunities," Giovanni said. "You might with me."

"What makes you think that? What do you do anyway?"

"You don't know? Well, have you ever heard of Team Rocket?"

"Kind of," Meowth said. The name sounded vaguely familiar. "You guys are criminals, right?"

"Some call us that," Giovanni said with shrug. "It's not the point. I know from your point of view, humans rule the world, but the fact is we don't. At least not yet."

"Not yet?" Meowth repeated.

"No. That's my goal though."

"You want to conquer the world?" Meowth said, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes," Giovanni confirmed. "This is something Team Rocket can and will accomplish. With and only with pokemon at our side. I can imagine you'd be an invaluable addition to Team Rocket as one of those pokemon."

"Yeah, I don't know about that," Meowth said.

"Meowth, you're just letting yourself go to waste here. Isn't there anything you'd like to get out of life?"

"Of course! What do you think I've been trying so hard for?"

"Whatever your dreams are, I'm sure you can accomplish them through Team Rocket. I really do want you as part of my team. I'd be willing to pay you more than my average grunt."

"You'd pay me?" Meowth repeated dubiously.

"Of course."

"Do you pay your other pokemon?" Meowth asked.

"No. But you aren't like other pokemon. They're just happy to be my minions. Money is something you'd want for yourself, isn't it? Not just something that your 'master' would have."

Meowth considered it. Yes, if it had had money, Meowsie would have paid attention to it. Meowsie had tried to tell about how the world worked. It had explained to Meowth that money made the world go around, and humans had all the money, therefore all of the worth. It wasn't the standing and speaking that would make Meowth human-like, but lots and lots of money. With that, Meowth could have love, food, and anything else it wanted. "Yeah. I'd like that," Meowth said. If it was going to be a freak, it might as well be a rich freak.

"That could happen for you. I do pay more valuable agents more. As you proved yourself valuable, I'd give you more and more," Giovanni promised. Meowth now looked at him, intently interested. "But of course, right away you'd get everything you needed. You wouldn't have to be a part of any demeaning scenes as I witnessed today. I'll give you all the basic necessities, the shelter and food that you need. You will join me, won't you?"

"I think... Yeah, I think I want to," Meowth said. Just from sitting there, it had already gotten hungrier, and its mouth watered as it thought of the sandwich it had just eaten, smelling its remnants on the wrapper it still held. Meowth didn't know if it really wanted to join this guy's weird group, but just getting food and probably a warm place to stay was more than enough for the moment.

"Good," Giovanni said, grinning. Just with a few words and promises, he was beginning to 'catch' this valuable pokemon. "Let's get going then. I have other business in town, but I will introduce you to everyone to start with."

After waiting just a few moments outside, Giovanni and Meowth were picked up in a car. They drove a little ways, and then arrived at a hotel. As they walked in, there was a lot of loud joking and laughing, but then everyone stood at attention, saluting him.

Meowth felt momentarily uncomfortable as the group of uniformed people stared at them. It had gotten the idea that the guy next to it was an important person from their first encounter, but not to this extent. Everyone in the room had stopped whatever they were doing the moment he'd walked in, gave him their full attention, and waited for whatever he was going to say. Then one noticed Meowth standing by his feet. "It's-"

"This is Meowth," Giovanni began. "A valuable new member of Team Rocket. I'll be busy tonight, and I want you all to welcome it. Give Meowth your best, the same as you would myself."

"Right, boss!" the people agreed. As Giovanni left with several other people, Meowth found itself surrounded by the people. This time, they weren't threatening, some of them even smiled.

"So, the cat's the boss for now?" one said, laughing and stumbling over his own feet.

"Get over here and sit next to us, then!" another said.

"It'll need a little help."

One grunt put a booster seat onto a chair, another lifted Meowth up. "Hey, hands off! I can get up there myself," Meowth said.

"Is it saying something?" a grunt asked.

"Come on, the boss didn't tell us to make nice with it for nothing! There's gotta be something special about this meowth. Come on Meowth, join us. Do you want something? Something to eat, a nice drink?"

Being properly invited, Meowth sat on the booster seat, almost at eye level with everyone else. They'd gone back to the loud party-like atmosphere. Some of them looked a little drunk, Meowth noticed. It began to joke about that fact. Instead of being offended, the rocket grunts laughed. They patted Meowth on the back, and piled food in front of it. When Meowth spoke, they responded the same as they would to any other human.

Meowth was surprised at just how much it was able to relax and join in. This was Team Rocket, was it? And besides getting this kind of regard from other agents, its hard work could make it rich? This wasn't bad, Meowth thought. Maybe it would stay with the group. It just needed to consider things a little more.

* * *

Meowth grabbed Giovanni's sleeve. Giovanni leaned down at listened, then nodded. "Get rid of him," Giovanni said.

Meowth smirked as the grunt who was being questioned had his pokeballs taken away, then he was punched, and dragged out of the room. The boss wouldn't have to worry about this traitor anymore. Meowth had found out exactly what he'd been up to from his assigned pokemon. "That's a good cat," Giovanni said, giving Meowth a pat on the head.

Though it definitely wasn't anything close to what the boss would have said to any other Rocket, Meowth was starting to appreciate itself as a pokemon. It had never really been valued as such before, but now it was. He stood beside Giovanni as his 'top cat', yet Meowth also stood on its own. It wasn't really contradictory, and Giovanni appreciated Meowth in both aspects. Meowth really loved its boss's praise, no matter what the context.

"With that worry out of my hair, I can take care of some more pressing business," Giovanni said.

"What's that, boss?" Meowth asked.

"I'd like to check on the cloning project," Giovanni said. "I'm really very excited about what might transpire from it."

"Hopefully it won't be anything too freaky that jumps out of that lab," Meowth said, slightly disappointed. The boss never wanted it to go with him on these trips.

"You'll be coming along," Giovanni said.

"Oh?" Meowth said in surprise. "Yeah, sure boss!" it said, grinning.

As they exited the rocket base, a persian jumped in front of them, yowling about the trash. Meowth stepped forward. As a member of the renowned Team Rocket, the boss's top cat, it was able to act above all other pokemon. Even an annoying persian wouldn't intimidate it. "Go garbage picking somewhere else!" Meowth said, shooing it away. It was gratifying to be the one to say these kind of things, Meowth thought, still smiling. This was turning out to be a pretty good day.

"Persian. That's your evolved form, isn't it?" Giovanni said as they sat down in the car.

"Yeah, some meowth evolve into that," Meowth muttered. It didn't like meowth once they did evolve, and if Meowth had already disliked them prior, evolving to persian made matters worse.

"I've always liked them. So graceful and sleek. How much longer do you think it will be until you evolve?" Giovanni asked.

Meowth's mouth opened in surprise. How could the boss be thinking that? "Well, even if I know some moves, I haven't really been battling much. So I won't evolve anytime soon."

"It might not be a bad thing for you to become stronger by battling, and then evolving," Giovanni said.

Meowth frowned and fidgeted. It wasn't bad at battling. But hadn't the boss valued it as a pokemon who didn't just battle? "Who knows what'd happen to me if I evolved," Meowth said. "Maybe I'd lose my abilities." It very likely couldn't stand on two legs for long, and the persian body might affect its speaking abilities as well.

"Right. Of course, you need to stay a meowth," Giovanni said.

Meowth smiled again. Yeah, the boss just hadn't been thinking. He wanted powerful pokemon for sure, but also appreciated Meowth for what it was. Yeah, Meowth assured itself, the boss thought of acquiring powerful pokemon a lot, but considered Meowth a irreplaceable part of Team Rocket.

How Meowth was by his side all the time proved it. Besides translating what other pokemon were saying, Meowth often engaged in conversation with its boss, about various topics. Its boss really prized it, Meowth knew. With that, Meowth was starting to see itself as valuable more and more.

The boss didn't make a habit of inviting many along to this secret lab, Meowth knew. It was privileged just to know about the place, and now even more so to visit it. Meowth realized this with pride as they took off in the helicopter, flying over the ocean. "Is that where it is?" Meowth asked, seeing an island in the distance.

"Yes. Nothing there has been successful as of yet. I'm really not sure if I should keep financing it. What do you think, Meowth?"

"Depends what you're hoping to get out of it, I guess. It can be fun to gamble, huh?" Meowth said.

Giovanni nodded. "Yes, and this gamble may well be worth it. I'll have to wait and see."

As they landed, Meowth followed at Giovanni's feet. It took a good look around, where people didn't salute the boss as usual, just stayed caught up in their work. They probably wanted to look busy. But someone did eventually run over to them. "Sir! You didn't tell us you were coming," he said.

"Is there a problem?" Giovanni asked.

"No, not at all. I just would have been there to greet you."

"No need for that, I wouldn't want to distract you. With so many failures, you don't need any distractions, do you?" Giovanni said. He turned toward the tubes. "I've just come to have a look."

With that, Meowth took a close look around too. There were several large tubes all around, all empty. Were they supposed to be fish tanks or something? Meowth thought it spotted something in one in the distance.

"Meowth here thinks I'm making a big gamble," Giovanni said.

"Hm?" Meowth turned back to the people in front of it. No, it hadn't exactly said that, since it didn't know the situation, but took Giovanni's comment as permission to speak. "Yeah, you really don't want to disappoint the boss here, either," it said.

"Yes," Dr. Fuji said. "This new clone, it's survived far longer than... Than the rest. Sir, if you were going to discontinue your support, I'd wait to see how this last specimen fares."

"That is what I'm waiting for," Giovanni said. He turned toward the back, where Meowth had thought it had seen something. As Giovanni walked toward the occupied tube, Meowth followed. It stared up along with Giovanni at the purple-ish muscular pokemon inside.

"What is that?" Meowth said.

"There's no need for you to know that much, Meowth," Giovanni said. Meowth was silent, realizing it had stepped over a line. "But it is a pokemon. That much is clear, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Meowth said.

"So then, Meowth, why don't you and this pokemon have a chat? Ask it if it would like to wake up," Giovanni said.

Meowth looked up at Giovanni, a worried expression on its face. "Um, boss, I can't just do that," it said. Giovanni looked down at it questioningly and Meowth cowered. "Yeah, boss, you know I'm not psychic. I can't talk to a sleeping pokemon in a fish tank."

"Of course," Giovanni said. Looking at the unconscious clone once more, he turned away.

Meowth still saw its boss's disappointment, and looked down in shame. It wanted to do everything the boss wanted, but the impossible was impossible. Giovanni might have just come out here simply with this in mind, and Meowth couldn't deliver. Its abilities weren't magic or anything, though at the moment Meowth wished they were.

Giovanni didn't say much to anyone else there as he looked around just a short while longer before leaving. Yeah, Meowth realized with embarrassment, Giovanni had only come for one reason, and that was a hope Meowth could help him. He wouldn't really be angry, Meowth thought, and its abilities were useful in most situations. Still, Meowth was worried as they traveled back to the base.

* * *

As they arrived, a group of grunts stood outside laughed, one throwing a pokeball into the air. "What's going on?" Giovanni asked as he approached. The grunts all stood at attention, the tension apparent.

"Sir, it's just that persian was really becoming a nuisance. It wasn't approved, but we decided to catch it," one grunt explained.

"And who decided on that?" Giovanni asked. Immediately, people backed away from the individual holding the pokeball. "To my office," Giovanni said to him.

Meowth came along with them. It was hardly ever away from the boss these days, even with discipline matters like this. Meowth sat near Giovanni, loyally watching and ready to help if needed.

"Boss," the guilty grunt began. "This thing's really caused some damage. I wasn't catching it behind your back, really, I was going to-"

"Show me the pokemon," Giovanni said.

"Right," the grunt said. It pressed the button on the pokeball, releasing Persian into the open. Persian sat with its back to them, calmly licking its paw.

Giovanni approached it, observing Persian closely. "For a street pokemon, it's very muscular and clean. A little shabby looking, but we see how well Meowth polished up with some care."

"Boss?" the grunt said, realizing he might get away easily.

"I'm going to take it," Giovanni said. "You can have another pokemon instead. Take this raticate."

"Right, boss!" the grunt said, hardly believing his luck. He happily handed Giovanni the pokeball, receiving one from Giovanni in return.

Meowth watched the exchange, frowning. Did the boss really want his own persian that much? "Hey, boss, why are you bothering with that kind of pokemon?" Meowth asked as the grunt left. "It's the one we saw out front today, right? There was nothing that great about it. You should tell that guy what for, for wasting a pokeball to catch something like that."

Giovanni shrugged. "I was planning to disperse more pokemon into the ranks," he said. "I just wanted to test the potential of this new pokemon myself."

Meowth nodded. That's right, it thought as it watched Giovanni putting the persian's pokeball away. The boss liked powerful pokemon. Persian were stronger than meowth, but really not that strong when compared to the pokemon the boss already used in battles. Giovanni would see its limited potential, then disperse it to some low-ranking grunt. Meowth was still the top cat, it assured itself.

"Meowth, that reminds me, I think I'm going to reassign you," Giovanni said. "There's really no more point to you just sitting around here with me."

Surprised, Meowth's facial expression fell, then it looked at the floor in shame. So, it really had disappointed the boss just then. And with the boss grabbing that persian right then...

"Chin up, Meowth. There are a lot of areas where your talents could be put to use," Giovanni said.

"Yeah, sure boss," Meowth said, forcing a determined expression to appear on its face. It was disappointing to be moved, but the boss was right. He was someone with a master plan, and Meowth was going to be an important part of that. "So what do you got planned for me?" Meowth asked.

"Some field agents would likely find you useful in some situations," Giovanni said, beginning to leaf through some folders.

"Yeah, it might not be bad to have partners," Meowth said.

"Right," Giovanni said. "These two should still be nearby. Yes, they should do."

Meowth looked at the folder Giovanni had dropped on his desk blankly. He'd made that decision pretty quickly. "Are they really good agents?" Meowth asked hopefully.

"Good enough," Giovanni said.

Meowth nodded. Everyone who worked for Team Rocket was good enough. If they weren't, Meowth would make them good enough. It had been allowed to order humans around before, and would do so again.

That afternoon, Meowth sat on a window ledge thinking about it, convincing itself that this was a good thing, and all the awesome plans it would enact with some humans working for it. From sitting by Giovanni's side, it was sure it knew what the boss liked, and would steal hundreds of pokemon for him.

Looking outside the window, Meowth saw Giovanni training with a random uniformed opponent. The persian knocked out the grunt's sandslash easily with some fury swipes. It wasn't bad, Meowth supposed. It had just been hanging around the base recently, but maybe it had been through a few battles before evolving and then wandering over here. But that sandslash could just have been ill trained, too, Meowth thought with a smirk. There was nothing really special about the persian.

The persian walked back to Giovanni, yowling at him. The boss wouldn't like that, Meowth thought, as he hated it when underlings got too loud. Meowth waited for the boss to chide the persian, but instead, Giovanni just patted it on the head, smiling. Persian moved its head into Giovanni's hand, grinning itself.

Meowth had lost its appetite, and its mouth fell open. It shouldn't be jealous, it thought, not with just one little scene like that. But even thinking this, Meowth was jealous. Wasn't it special in some way? Wasn't that why such an important person had picked it off of the streets? Maybe not, as the boss was pushing Meowth to the side, all while pulling some random annoying persian to the front.

No, Meowth told itself, that wasn't what was happening. Whatever Giovanni was doing, it was Meowth's fault anyway, it told itself. Meowth hadn't been useful in the cloning lab. Maybe it had been too loud and annoying at other times. But it could be useful again. Meowth was the same as any other rocket agent, and would prove itself out in the field.

So Meowth convinced itself it wasn't jealous, just for the moment, even when Giovanni walked inside the building while still allowing Persian to stay outside its pokeball. It had only ever allowed Meowth to do that before, though Meowth didn't have a pokeball, of course. It didn't mean anything, Meowth thought. No, Meowth wasn't jealous. It was going to start a new assignment in Team Rocket. Meowth wished it had opened that folder and read what was inside, because its new partners were the only thing it cared about for the moment.

* * *

Meowth stood in front of Giovanni's desk, the only pokemon present in the room. Two uniformed members entered, saluting the boss. Meowth took a good look a them. There was a man and woman, both dressed in white rather than the standard black. There had been a few other agents it had seen in that color, but Meowth wasn't really sure if it meant anything special. They looked pretty nondescript in general, just a normal pair of humans.

"As I briefed you two before, this is Meowth. Meowth, you're to assist these two the best you can. And you two, of course, are to make use of it. Don't let this pokemon go to waste."

"Right, boss!"

Meowth felt weird leaving the office with them. But it still held its head high. When they got out, the two of them sighed, slumping over in the chairs in the lobby. "This is it?" the woman said.

"I was expecting something else," the man commented.

"Hey, don't talk about me like that! You two don't know how lucky you are to have me around to help! Call me Meowth if you're gonna talk about me!" Meowth said.

"Oh, we do know we're lucky," the man said with a smile.

His partner scowled at him. "Can it," she said.

"What do you mean?" Meowth said.

"Oh, fine," the woman said with a sigh. "Our last mission was a spectacular failure. The boss had to get us out of jail and everything."

"So, the boss saddled me with some losers?" Meowth said.

"Hey!" the man said.

"Don't talk about us like that either!" the woman said.

"Oh," Meowth said, realizing its mistake. "Sorry about that. So what do I call you two?"

"Jessie."

"James."

"And," Jessie began. "Don't think we're some rejects or anything. One bungle doesn't change that we've been successful over all."

"Right!" James agreed. "That's why the boss partnered us up with his very own meowth, right?"

"Exactly," Jessie said.

Meowth smiled, feeling better as they spoke. It nodded and agreed with the overall sentiment, thought there was just one thing it needed to correct. "I'm not the boss's pokemon," it said.

"What? But you're the same Meowth that's around him all the all the time, right?" James asked.

"That's right," Meowth confirmed. "But I'm the boss's agent, the same as you."

"Hm," Jessie said, raising an eyebrow. James just nodded.

"I guess the boss put me with you two because you're pretty good. Like he said, he doesn't want me to go to waste. But you two better be useful to me too. I've got plans for us. We're gonna be the top 'team' in the team, you know?" Meowth said.

"Our thoughts exactly," Jessie said.

Meowth felt a lot better as it talked to its new partners, especially as they discussed the plans for their upcoming heist. This wasn't a bad place to be, with these humans that knew how lucky they were for having it around. Meowth felt even better the next day. The fact that it saw Giovanni addressing the grunts with Persian following him around just like Meowth had done only the day before didn't bother Meowth at all. This was where the boss had decided was best for it to be, and Meowth wasn't going to disappoint.


	2. Jessie and James

**2**  
**Jessie and James**

Meowth tossed up the orange. It put up its claws to cut it, then missed. Meowth watched as it rolled around. "Wait! That's mine!" Meowth called. It chased across the restaurant's floor after its food. When it finally though it could grab it, the orange had gotten wet and slipped out of Meowth's grasp. Watching the round object's movement, Meowth became amused, and just ran the other way, chasing it. This was fun all on its own.

The orange hit Jessie's foot as she sat at the table. "Stop playing around," Jessie said, holding out the food.

"No goofing off here," Meowth said guiltily. It grabbed the orange again, beginning to peal it and chomp it down. "Give me some of that," it said, grabbing the chips away from James. This was a pretty satisfying meal, made even more satisfying as they ate it knowing they'd finally been able to send some pokemon back to the boss. Meowth ate some more then turned to Jessie. "Just because we have a little time to celebrate doesn't mean we get lax. Time to plan our next heist."

"What do you have in mind, Meowth?" James asked.

"I know what I have in mind," Jessie said. They paused, all three of them thinking of the same thing. "There's no way that brat can keep getting lucky when he faces us forever."

Meowth nodded. "It's not just luck though," it said. They all sat in silence, considering the one failure they'd never been able to let go. This kid had tripped them up while robbing a pokemon center, causing some fireworks with just one small pikachu.

That pikachu was special. How else could it cause so much damage, not to mention escape their grasp so many times? Yeah, it was because the pokemon was far more powerful than the average member of its species. One of their goals was to capture it and present it to the boss. Pikachu would be impressive, Meowth was sure. It would definitely beat that persian which had taken Meowth's place at the boss's side. That would be fun to watch.

"So, do we bother going after that pikachu again? I mean, I'm sure that twerp's nearby," Jessie said.

"I say we do. You guys just need to be better prepared, got it? Don't let him catch us by surprise again," Meowth said.

"Right," Jessie and James agreed. Meowth nodded and smiled, happy to have humans that took its orders so readily.

"Wait a minute," Jessie said. She looked up at the TV, which had been playing the news at mute near the door then walked up to it. James followed, and Meowth hopped on his shoulder to see better. The caption read, "Mysterious Pokemon Appears!" They watched some kind of blur going past the camera. Then the camera focused on the pokemon, zooming in, completely in focus. Jessie and James's brows furrowed, and Meowth gave a shout.

"It's that pokemon!" Meowth said.

"Yeah, it does look kind of familiar," Jessie said.

"It really does. I'm not really sure where I've seen it before," James said.

"You dolts! You haven't seen this pokemon before," Meowth said.

"Why couldn't we, Meowth?" Jessie said.

"I guess I saw it flying around somewhere and forgot," James said, putting his hand on his chin as he tried to recall where.

"No way," Meowth insisted. "If you saw this thing, you wouldn't forget. This is..." Meowth paused and looked around. No one was watching. It hopped on the floor, then motioned for Jessie and James to get closer. They kneeled, looking at Meowth questioningly. "This is a genetically modified pokemon the boss special-ordered. If it woke up and escaped, you know the boss'll be looking for it!"

"Hm," James said, nodding in understanding. "Well then..."

"I guess we know what the boss wants us to do next," Jessie said.

"Yeah, we should definitely go after it. Problem is, where it's been spotted is no where near here," Meowth said, reading the caption on the TV.

"So we should go back to where it's been seen?" James suggested. Jessie nodded.

"Have you seen how quick that thing moves? It'd be gone long before we got there," Meowth said.

"Then what do you suggest, Meowth?" Jessie said.

"We just stay put," Meowth concluded. "I don't know much about that pokemon, but it's some kind of weird floating psychic type. If it appears here, we'll be here. That's probably what the boss wants us to do."

"So just hide away?" Jessie said.

"No way!" Meowth insisted. Didn't she get what it had just been saying? They were part of a team, and the boss would probably want all of his team looking out all throughout Kanto, not just crowding in one stop. "We've got other work to do. You can't be thinking about going to where every other agent probably is right now."

"Right," James said.

"Yeah, fine," Jessie hesitantly agreed.

"You probably do know what the boss wants, Meowth," James said.

"I guess we do have other things to do anyway," Jessie said.

"Good," Meowth said with a nod. Even if they argued, its human partners eventually listened most of the time. They hadn't turned out to be the completely obedient and powerful underlings that Meowth had wanted when it first heard it was setting out as a field agent, but they were good enough. It was kind of fun to work with them most of the time, Meowth recalled. Now if only they'd cooperate for long enough for its plans to work when they tried to get hold of that rare pikachu.

"Since you understand, let's get looking for that twerp with the pikachu again," Meowth said.

"And then the boss's special pokemon?" James asked.

"Just keep your eyes peeled. We can get both things done at once, you know," Meowth said. Its human partners were both unsure about the idea, but Meowth just shrugged. They didn't need to know its reasoning. Meowth was actually very interested in getting the boss's prized project back. But to do so would all be a matter of luck. They'd need luck to find it, more luck to catch it, and then they'd just have to hope that the boss still wanted it. With all those factors, the best gamble would be in staying put. They'd have less to lose that way, though they probably wouldn't find that pokemon, either.

"You two heard me," Meowth said, putting its trash on the tray then pushing it over at James. "Let's get moving. We've got a lot of work to do."

"Right," Jessie and James both said seriously. They threw everything away, ending their brief celebration. The group then headed to door, going down the street to where they had hidden their hot air balloon, and took off into the air. There was no time to waste. They'd have more than enough time to celebrate as their next victory came to be.

* * *

Finding the kid turned out to be easier said than done. Of course, he had to be nearby, he'd just gotten himself lost nearby the mountain range. They thought they'd spotted him from a distance. Jessie took out their binoculars and confirmed it. "He's all alone," she said.

James took the binoculars and also looked around, nodding as he saw Ash and Pikachu alone. He looked around more and saw his two friends nearby. "The other two twerps are over there," James said, pointing off in another direction.

"But if we get to him in time, it'll be easier to finally take pikachu with no resistance, won't it?" Jessie said.

"Now you're talking," Meowth said with a nod. "Let's get down there before we're spotted ourselves."

Meowth was satisfied as the other two followed its orders and brought them to the ground. James began to look around more as they did. "What's that?" he said, staring off in the distance.

Jessie looked to where he'd pointed and squinted. "I think I saw it too," she said.

"We should change course then?" James said.

"No, we don't want it to see us first either, do we?" Jessie said.

"What are you two blathering about?" Meowth asked.

"Just look Meowth!" James said with excitement. "That pokemon, the boss's, we saw it!"

Meowth frowned as it tried to put itself up to see better. "You sure you two weren't just hoping you saw it?"

"We definitely saw something," Jessie declared.

"So you're not sure what?" Meowth said dubiously.

"I am sure!" James insisted. "It was the boss's pokemon."

Meowth nodded. There was no reason to get all excited, but Jessie was right. If it was where James had indicated, they were in the right area to possibly recapture it, and they didn't want to be in the air when a pokemon like that was around. "Let's keep moving," Meowth said.

* * *

"This isn't good," Brock said. He looked at the map, his hands trembling a bit as he tried to look around, both to determine their location as well as the location of his friend, Ash. Trying to do both, he was unable to do either, and just let out a sigh of frustration.

Misty frowned nearby him. "Nothing about this whole situation has been good," she said. "Ash!" she called loudly.

"Misty, maybe we shouldn't be making ourselves so easy to find," Brock said.

"Get back over here now!" Misty shouted, ignoring him. She paused, hearing nothing in response. "Ash, you'd better not be ignoring me!" Misty ran forward.

"Wait, Misty!" Brock insisted. He started to run as well, not wanting to lose track of both his friends.

Misty wasn't that patient. She looked and listened. Both Ash and Mewtwo had to be somewhere around. Brock was right, they shouldn't be too loud. Anyone looking for that pokemon and its friends might notice them, then start demanding what they knew, or trying to eliminate the competition. Which is why Ash should have stuck with them rather than wandering off on his own.

Misty took a deep breath, and slowed her walking, trying to make her steps quieter. Brock caught up to her, and they began to walk calmly beside each other again. "This way," Brock said, and then lead Misty to a worn down path.

Seeing it, Misty felt somewhat relieved, but then disappointed as she looked one way and then the other, but still didn't see Ash. She frowned, but then picked her head up as she heard some rustling, and heard a voice. "Ash!" she called, then stopped herself. She heard the voice again, and it definitely wasn't Ash's. Misty and Brock both began to walk down the path, both of them getting out their pokeballs as they did.

"Ha!" Meowth said, jumping in front of them. Misty stopped, then turned around. Sure enough, Jessie and James were there, looking smug about having found them. "Prepare for trouble!" Jessie declared.

"And make it double," James continued.

Misty frowned. She wasn't all that intimidated anymore. Even though this group was part of Team Rocket, she was familiar with them. Misty held onto the pokeballs she'd picked out, with Staryu and Starmie, but made no move. "I should have figured we'd run into you," she said.

"What do you want with us?" Brock asked, raising his now empty hands to show he wasn't interested in fighting.

"Hey!" Jessie said.

"No interrupting," James said.

"But since you're asking, where's your pal and his pikachu?" Meowth asked.

Misty frowned, her eyes widening. "Is that seriously all you want to know?" she said.

"We're not gonna forget what happened," Meowth said.

"Your little friend's pikachu will join Team Rocket," Jessie said.

"Are you three even Team Rocket members?" Misty demanded loudly.

"Of course we are," Jessie said, frowning.

"Then how do you not know about what's going on?" Misty asked.

"Misty-" Brock began.

"What's going on?" James repeated.

Meowth frowned, thinking maybe they should have checked back in with the boss. Now these kids might know more than it did about the goings on of Team Rocket. But how much could they know, really? Meowth wasn't going to fall for the kid's bait. If she knew anything, it seemed like she might spill it herself soon.

"Quit stalling anyway, just tell us where your twerpy little friend is," Jessie said.

"That way," Brock said, indicating one direction on the path.

Jessie raised an eyebrow in surprise at just how easy that had been, but didn't make a move in that direction. Meowth or James also stood in place. Meowth studied the kid's expression. It was mostly blank. The girl frowned, looking at the ground. There was no way they'd just tell them anything they wanted to know so easily.

"What got you two so excited anyway?" Meowth said, finally breaking the silence.

"Yeah. What's on your mind?" James said.

"It doesn't seem like we're your biggest worry, even though we're right here in front of you," Jessie said.

Brock and Misty were both blank-faced and tight-lipped as they stared at the rockets. Jessie and James started to get annoyed as the seconds ticked by in silence, but Meowth was thinking. It again broke the silence. "It's gotta have something to do with the boss's special pokemon. That's it, isn't it?" Meowth asked. Looking closely at Brock and Misty, it saw they both started to frown. "Yeah, just tell us what's going on," Meowth added.

"Shouldn't go know this already from your boss and not from us?" Brock pointed out. Misty smirked and Jessie and James both fell for his bait, becoming defensive right away.

"The boss tells us everything!" Jessie insisted.

"That's right, we're just not bothering him while he's busy," James said.

"Right, so cough up anything you know," Jessie said.

"Relax, you two," Meowth said. They were way too quick to just jump the gun. It turned to Brock and Misty again. Meowth could see Misty was already holding at least one pokeball, and Brock was tense, at the defensive as well. They were going to fight as soon as Jessie and James started to really push. So Meowth relaxed its pose and smiled. "These kids are right," it said.

"Meowth," Jessie began testily.

"We can find out everything the boss wants us to know from him," Meowth said. Then it narrowed its eyes at Brock and Misty. "But I bet you two know something you really want to share with us, huh?"

Brock shrugged. "Nothing comes to mind," he said.

Meowth turned away. "Yeah, I guess you two little twerps couldn't know anything that important."

"No, I guess not," Brock agreed.

"You're nothing but brainless little weaklings, wandering around the forest here with no goal," Meowth began, side-eyeing toward Misty. "Here me and Jessie and James hoped we'd come across your little friend. He might also be a little twerp, but at least he has a powerful pokemon. Bet he can tell us more than you simpletons, too."

"Yeah, I just bet that Ash would be blabbing to you all as soon as he could!" Misty shouted.

"Misty," Brock said with a sigh.

"What makes you think that?" Meowth asked.

"Actually, maybe we should think about saying something to them ourselves," Misty said. She looked at Brock, who shook his head.

"I know what you're thinking. I just don't think it would do any good," he said.

"Yeah Brock, you're right," Misty said.

"What are you talking about?" James asked.

"Just forget about it!" Misty snapped. "You should know everything already, if not from the your boss then from the news, right? So just leave us alone already!"

"Don't push it, twerp," Jessie said threatening, reaching for a pokeball. "You shouldn't talk back to your betters."

"Oh, betters? Want to find out if that's really true?" Misty said, holding up one of the pokeballs that she already had at the ready. "We'll see who's really the 'brainless weakling'!"

Just before Misty and Jessie were about to fight, Meowth spoke. "Forget it, guys. We can't worry about these kids right now. We've got other things to do, right?"

"Right," James said, and Jessie also nodded. "Let's go," James said, walking in the direction that Brock had indicated.

"Wait a minute there, Jimmy," Meowth said. As James stopped, it spoke again. "We've got something to take care of this way first, remember?"

James followed Jessie and Meowth with some hesitation. "What's this way?" he asked once they'd walked a little ways away.

"The brat's this way!" Meowth said.

"But that other twerp said-" James began.

"We saw the twerp in this direction ourselves. Have you completely lost your sense of direction?" Jessie said.

"Oh, that's right," James realized. "I guess he doesn't know where his friend is at all."

"No, he was just lying," Meowth said.

"How sneaky," James commented. "That's our department, isn't it?"

Meowth sighed. Sometimes it thought these two could be useful, but a lot of the time they were just lucky to have it around to help them. James's gullibility in some situations was just one example of the glaring flaws they displayed which might give them trouble with their job. Well, there was no need for Meowth to point it out. "Just hurry up, and don't make too much noise so we don't give ourselves away too fast," it said.

* * *

He shouldn't have to answer to anyone, Giovanni thought with some annoyance. This incident was becoming annoyingly public. Knowing it was part of Mewtwo's strategy, Giovanni remained calm. But in order to prevent anyone else from seeking out Mewtwo, from coming to any conclusion that didn't involve this powerful pokemon ending up back with Team Rocket.

In order to ensure that, Giovanni did have to go public. He had already spoken to the police, and now would speak to the public at large. There was no need to have too many random trainers poking around where they didn't belong. In this case, transparency might be the best solution.

Various reporters were ready to hear the words of a Team Rocket agent that Giovanni had dressed up and put out to be his mouthpiece. The grunt straightened his tie, and looked somewhat more nervous than Giovanni would have liked. It was obvious that person was sweating as the spotlight came out.

Luckily, his voice didn't shake as he gave his well-rehearsed statement, explaining that he was a scientist who had worked in the lab, as well as a private funder of the project, then apologized for all of the damage that had been caused, assuring it would be paid for. Then the grunt finally got the point that Giovanni had been getting at, the whole point for why they'd bothered speaking out in the first place.

"This pokemon is dangerous," Giovanni's stand-in explained. "I know some rogue trainers might want to help, but absolutely do not do so. You'll be putting yourself and your pokemon in mortal danger if you approach this pokemon."

"So, there's a danger to everyone in the general public?" a reporter interrupted.

"Well, yes and no. This pokemon is a created creature, you understand. It's unfamiliar with everything outside the place it was created. It will likely attack anything with full force that comes near it, since it has no idea what is actually a threat against it or not. But we have no reason not to think that this pokemon will avoid you if you avoid it. So if you think you spot it, no need to put yourself in danger by investigating yourself. Just get yourself out of danger and call our hotline as soon as possible. Don't try to test your might as a trainer. There's no trainer alive that can match this pokemon."

"Sir! Sir, if that's true, then how do you plan to subdue it?" another reporter asked.

The rocket in disguise had been well-prepared for a question like this. "Since we created it, we understand it. We have the specialized equipment which allows us to overpower a pokemon of its specific type and tier."

"So you can't guarantee anyone's safety against this threat?" another reporter asked.

"Well, there's no need to worry, as long as a few precautions are taken. This dangerous pokemon may attack other pokemon, since they're beasts and can't help but provoke each other. But the public in general shouldn't be too concerned. With your help, we will find it. Then, we absolutely will eliminate it, so it won't be a problem to any person or pokemon anymore."

A few other questions were asked regarding safety, and similar answers were given. Giovanni was pleased. Things were going well, overall. Giovanni knew there were plenty that wouldn't buy into this explanation and plan of action. But as long as the contents of this conference stayed within these lines, the majority's perception would be what Giovanni desired.

"Have you tried speaking with it?"

Giovanni frowned as the questioned was raised. His stand-in, having gotten comfortable in the spotlight was starting to sweat again, looking away as he spoke. "Well, as I've said this pokemon is dangerous. It's not the type to be reasoned with." Giovanni nodded, approving of the cautious approach. Then his stand-in spoke again. "Besides, pokemon can't be reasoned with using words."

Giovanni shook his head, but it was too late. "This pokemon doesn't speak, but it can communicate telepathically with human language, correct?" the same reporter continued.

"It's a psychic type. It can manipulate your mind, maybe into thinking it's really communicating," the grunt said. Giovanni motioned for him to stop. This was turning into a failure. They were supposed to incite the public's fear, not their curiosity. "Well, that's all for today."

"But there are pokemon that can speak, aren't there? I've heard Team Rocket has one. Doesn't Team Rocket have a meowth that can speak without even telepathy? Aren't you working with Team Rocket on this project?"

The questions were mostly swallowed up in the ruckus as Giovanni's stand-in left, but Giovanni still heard them. This reporter wasn't the only one to be asking them, either. Even though Mewtwo was a pokemon that had been created exclusively for use by Team Rocket, there were people who questioned if it should have any autonomy.

Giovanni's answer was absolutely not. However, he knew not everyone would agree with him. His acquired meowth was starting to be brought up more and more, though many considered its existence to be rumor rather than fact. Giovanni knew Meowth would cause controversy, possibly amusingly so, and that was why he'd gone through the trouble of preserving the talking pokemon in the first place. However, this controversy was leaning against Team Rocket, and Giovanni wasn't amused in the slightest.

* * *

As Jessie, James, and Meowth walked forward, they started to give less mind to stealth, though they began to observe the area around them more than ever. There was no sign of Ash, though other noises swallowing up any sound that they themselves would have made. The group stopped as they heard the sound of a helicopter, then several pokemon cries in the distance. "What's all this about?" Jessie asked, trying to hide her unease.

"Should we head back?" James said.

"I say we keep going forward," Meowth said. "This has something to do with the boss's prize pokemon for sure. You two get ready for a fight."

Jessie and James nodded, then brought their pokeballs into hand. The group ran forward. They saw the "R" labeled helicopter in the clearing, and gaped at the scene around them. Their fellow Team Rocket members, were knocked out everywhere, as were their pokemon. They all looked around for the source, then jumped as they saw the fast-moving pokemon knock out yet another of their comrades.

Jessie and James flinched. Meowth stared at the pokemon and nodded. "That's the boss's, alright," it said. "Let's hide so we can find it!"

"Hey!" a voice called.

Before they could hide, Meowth looked and saw the person waving to them and approaching. The voice was familiar, but his hat and the pikachu beside him confirmed who it was. "What's that twerp doing?" Meowth asked. It looked at Jessie and James, who were in a similar state of disbelief. "Come on, hurry up, let's hide!" Meowth ordered. The kid was like a train wreak, but it was better for them to run away, rather than stand around and become a part of said train wreak.

"Hey! Wait!" Ash called.

"Pika!" Pikachu mirrored the sentiment.

Realizing they couldn't really hide with their loud pursuers, Jessie, James, and Meowth turned around. "What is it?" Jessie asked.

"You shouldn't be bothering us," Meowth said.

"Can't you see what's going on here?" James said.

"It's okay," Ash assured.

"Pika pikachu," Pikachu added, speaking to Meowth.

"What do you mean you want my help?" Meowth asked.

"How could Meowth help you?" James asked.

"It's just some unevolved normal type. It can't go up against the boss's supermon," Jessie added.

"Yeah. That's true enough," Meowth admitted, though it was annoying to hear the assessment spoken aloud.

"Meowth, all these pokemon need your help," Ash said.

"And what makes you think I'd give it?" Meowth said, now doubly confused as to why the kid thought it could or would help.

"Pika," Pikachu began.

"Listen for a minute!" Ash insisted.

As they were talking, the attacking pokemon approached them, then landing nearby. Meowth did a double take. The experimental pokemon was bigger than Meowth remembered. Then again, Meowth had only ever seen it from afar, inside that tank. In any case, this muscular pokemon was approaching them threateningly. Ash turned to it with a smile. "Mewtwo! This is it! This is that meowth!" he said.

"I know," Mewtwo said. "The same as with you, I've met this group before." Before the conversation could continue, Mewtwo raised its hand.

There was a strange glowing field around Meowth. Meowth felt itself lifted off of the ground. "Hey, what gives? What's this?"

Its partners reacted quickly. Jessie grabbed Meowth. James threw out his pokeball. "Go, Weezing! Smoke screen!" As the attack obscured the area, Jessie, James, and Meowth were all able to escape together, running away. They caught their breath once they were far enough away. Jessie threw Meowth to the side.

Meowth got back on its feet. "What are you two even doing?" it demanded.

"Saving your butt," Jessie said.

"And our's!" James added.

"You shoulda asked me first!" Meowth said.

Jessie rolled her eyes. "Come on, Meowth. You even agreed that you weren't a match for that weird pokemon," she said.

"We didn't have too much time to talk about it either," James said.

"Did you even have time to think about it?" Meowth said. Jessie and James looked at it blankly, so it continued. "That was the boss's pokemon! We didn't even know we'd come across it! Now you two just up and run away from our prize without a fight," Meowth said.

"Well, those who know when to run away," James began.

"Live to catch pokemon another day," Jessie completed.

"What made you two think anything at all would happen to us if we stayed?" Meowth asked.

"Our teammates getting knocked down one after the other," Jessie said.

Meowth scowled. Jessie was right, but it still thought that they'd given up too fast. Well, that pokemon would probably still be in the area. "Next time, you two need to listen to me. Now-"

"You're being unreasonable, Meowth," Jessie said. "Hurry up, let's keep moving. We can listen to you blab when it's convenient."

Meowth clenched its jaw, scowling further. Besides being angry, it felt embarrassed at how Jessie referred to what it had to say. "Hey! I'm not just saying stuff for my own benefit here, you know. You two can be so stupid, I doubt you'd last a day without me."

"Oh really?" Jessie said, now frowning herself.

"I beg to differ on that," James said.

"Same here, James," Jessie said.

"Are you saying you clowns don't think you need me?" Meowth said.

"I'm saying you should stop thinking of us as clowns!" Jessie said.

"That's right! You aren't the only one who's thinking about the situation, you know!" James said.

"It's true. We were just thinking when you weren't, and got you out of that mess. You might show a little gratitude," Jessie said.

Meowth felt further embarrassment as its two partners continued to scold it. But these two were supposed to be its minions, weren't they? "Fine, thanks," Meowth said curtly. "So now leave the thinking to me. Let's get back over there and see what we can do about this pokemon."

"I don't think that's a good idea," James said.

"I'm thinking the same thing," Jessie added. "Maybe we should just tell the boss what we saw."

"I'll tell the boss what I saw. I'll also tell the boss how you two let his prized pokemon escape," Meowth said.

"You wouldn't," Jessie said, and James just frowned.

Meowth nodded. "Yeah, I'll be sure to tell the boss exactly how you two have been completely useless to me. You'll be lucky if he doesn't trash you after everything I tell him." Meowth began walking off with a self-satisfied smile, away from Jessie and James.

"Why you-" Jessie began.

"Jessie, wait," James said.

"Didn't you hear it, James? Meowth says it's going to trash us, right to the boss himself!"

"I know. I don't think Meowth would really do that, though."

Meowth heard James say this as it walked farther and farther away. No, it probably wouldn't be able to tell the boss too much about what had been going on. That would shine Meowth itself in a bad light as well. But these two were in for a surprise if they thought that Meowth would come running back after just a minute or so. Meowth really was going to call the boss. But it would focus on the positive, such as how it had spotted the pokemon the boss was definitely looking for. But that might not be exactly positive either, since other rockets had already been on the scene going after it, and hadn't succeeded.

Oh well, Meowth thought. It had a while of walking to think of how to spin this positively. Meowth kept walking, and began feeling angry at Jessie and James and how they'd dismissed it so readily. Well, Meowth considered, maybe this was a sign that it shouldn't be working with them anymore. Meowth was there to work with fellow team rocket agents who would value it and use it properly, or rather, allow themselves to be used properly.

As the sun started to set, Meowth's annoyance also faded, and it became concerned for what would happen next. It was pretty far from Jessie and James by now, wasn't it? "Jessie? James?" Meowth called. It became silent upon hearing no response. No, they weren't around. If they had been, Meowth would have noticed they'd been following long before.

It was going to be dark soon. It took a lot longer to travel by foot, especially for Meowth alone. It was sure it was going in the right direction, but it might have to rest before continuing. Meowth decided that was the best course of action, and settled itself in a tree, perking its ears up for possible threats.

It didn't hear much of anything. Meowth started to feel lonely. If Jessie and James were around, it would certainly hear something from them. They'd be arguing about something or another, maybe in a bad mood about what had happened that day. Meowth would probably have joined in, since it felt pretty moody itself right then. It would be nice to have someone to complain to.

Then when they went to sleep, even if it was all quiet like this, Meowth liked the reassuring feeling of having someone else nearby. Jessie and James were sure to make sure Meowth was fed along with their own pokemon too, Meowth recalled as its stomach growled. Meowth frowned, curling up tighter to try and get warmer as the night got even colder.

Meowth faded in and out of sleep. As it saw the very beginnings of daylight, though it was still quite dark, Meowth picked itself up. It kept walking down the path. Finally, it got to the edge of the town. The lights on the town were still on as the sun finally peeked over the horizon. The first phone booth was right along the road. Meowth got right in.

Here was another case in which Jessie and James would have been useful tools. Meowth could only knock the receiver down, which did it no good as it couldn't reach the buttons. Even when it jumped, Meowth found it way too difficult to aim at the right number. There was no seat in this booth for Meowth to get on and try to reach, so it pushed a rock inside. Even standing on the rock, Meowth was no where close to being able to reach. Measuring the height partly based on its own height, Meowth went back outside to find a rock that might be able to help it better. Finally finding one, Meowth tried to push it. It wouldn't budge. There was no way Meowth would be able to move it at all.

Feeling frustrated, Meowth ran back toward the booth. It leaped at the actual phone, and then grabbed onto it. It pulled itself to the top of the phone itself, then looked down and dialed to the boss's private number. The boss might not be too pleased to be called collect, Meowth realized uneasily as the phone began to ring.

But it was too late to hang up now. "Hello? Who is this?" Meowth heard Giovanni's voice at the other end, after his silent collect call had been accepted. "You'd better have a good reason for calling me. I want good news. Speak up!"

"Hi boss," Meowth said, trying to shake off its nerves. "Sorry to interrupt you, I know you're busy. Just thought you'd like to know-"

"Meowth? Is that you?" the boss interrupted.

"Oh, yeah, sorry for not saying so right away," Meowth said.

"Never mind that."

"Well, you see, I happened to be around when your grunts were trying to get hold of that pokemon I'm guessing is very important to you."

"Yes, I know," Giovanni said.

Meowth blinked in surprise. Well, there had been an awful lot of Team Rocket members there when the incident had occurred. "I guess you heard from Jessie and James already?" it said.

"Of course. Where are you now? Are you alone?"

"Yeah, I'm all alone, boss," Meowth said. Jessie and James had been ordered to take care of it, Meowth recalled. "I walked away from those two on my own," Meowth explained guiltily. It was angry at Jessie and James, but really didn't want them to be in hot water for its sake. "They just-"

"That's fine, Meowth. Just let me know where you are and I'll have someone pick you up right away."

"Sure, boss," Meowth said. It still had an uneasy feeling, even as the boss not only didn't scold it, but offered to help it right away. Meowth couldn't shake that feeling, and scratched its head. "I didn't really find out that much about anything that could help you, even when I saw it, though," Meowth admitted.

"Just tell me where you are," Giovanni said.

Meowth did so, still feeling the same. The boss would have scolded it right away if it had done something wrong, so everything was alright, wasn't it? Despite thinking that, Meowth still couldn't shake off its bad feeling. It stood by the phone booth until it heard some footsteps. It perked its ears up. Since Giovanni had said to wait for a field agent, maybe it was Jessie, James, or both?

They were Team Rocket members, but neither Jessie nor James was among them, Meowth realized with some disappointment. It was just some grunts he didn't know that well, recognizing their faces though he'd never learned their names. "There it is," one said.

"Let's go," the other said.

Meowth said nothing. It still got up and walked along with them, following their orders. Their abruptness was annoying, but it was still a relief to be back with its comrades, in a way. Meowth followed them to their helicopter, then taking to the air. It hoped that the boss's seeming good, possibly just distracted mood would last until Meowth got to the base for whatever its next orders would be.


	3. Cassidy and Butch

**3**  
**Cassidy and Butch**

Meowth noticed that the rocket grunts didn't leave his side, even as they were on the base. "Hey guys, I know where to go already," Meowth said.

The two grunts who had accompanied him didn't respond, just kept walking forward. When Meowth stopped, they did stop to look at it. "The boss wants you in his office, now!" one said.

"I figured that," Meowth said, noticing that the two other rocket employees just scowled more. Well, there was no reason for it to argue with them. Meowth knew where it was going and why. These two just didn't seem to get that it didn't need any supervision. That was irritating, but no big deal over all, Meowth supposed. It just kept walking toward where it knew it was going already.

"In here," the grunt said as they reached the door to the boss's office, pointing with a serious expression. Meowth waited until one of them opened the door, then walked in.

Giovanni was there, and turned to them with a smile. "Oh, Meowth. Hello," he said. Beside him, Persian howled its own greeting. "Good to see you're doing well," Giovanni added.

"Hey boss, sorry it took so long," Meowth said, feeling wary of all the attention it was getting. Giovanni usually didn't bother with pleasantries like this, at least not with minions, and a lone one at that.

"After hearing what happened, I'd been worried that I might have lost a valuable agent like you," Giovanni said.

"No way, boss. I'm fine. Nothing happened to me," Meowth said, feeling more comfortable. It really was valuable, so of course the boss might be in a good mood that Meowth had made it out okay. Meowth felt guilty as it realized that it might really have been in danger, and it had yelled at Jessie and James for saving it. "Um, boss, about those two partners of mine-"

"That's excellent news," Giovanni interrupted. "And those two, yes... You wanted to be reassigned apart from them, didn't you?"

Meowth was surprised. Had it really said something like that before when it had talked to the boss? Well, Meowth had thought about it several times during frustrating moments. Maybe it really had let it slip when talking to the boss at one time or another, if not directly than he'd possibly accidentally implied it. "Hey boss, don't worry. I'll work with anybody, even if things aren't perfect, I can make the best of it," Meowth assured.

"But you deserve the best in the first place, don't you, Meowth?" Giovanni said. As Meowth didn't respond, he continued. "If there were some hiccups with those other two, then you'd be better off with a group that can properly work with you. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Yeah boss, that's true," Meowth said. It didn't really wish Jessie and James any ill, but Meowth decided that it liked what its boss was saying. Things had been overall disappointing since Meowth started out as a field agent. Maybe the boss finally understood exactly what Meowth's potential was and was going to try and tap into it.

"Where do you think your team dynamics could improve?" Giovanni said.

"Well, I don't know, boss," Meowth said, putting its paw to its chin. "They weren't as obedient as I would have liked."

"Of course," Giovanni said, nodding. "I can relate to that. You'd like some reliable, faithful underlings, wouldn't you?"

"Well, yeah," Meowth said. It did deserve as much, right? That's right, Meowth affirmed, it did deserve to be around humans that would pay it mind and listen to it. They should also follow its orders dutifully, because how else would things get done? The boss was the boss, and if Meowth was to team up with some humans, the humans should listen to it as a stand-in for the boss. Meowth knew its place and wouldn't demand Giovanni give it something like that, but as long as the boss was offering...

"Well, that's fine," Giovanni said.

"Really?" Meowth muttered.

"Yes. I've been considering this, and decided to try reassigning you. I already know which field agents would do well for you," Giovanni explained. "I'll call them in right away."

Meowth was silent as Giovanni got on the phone. Before Meowth had a chance to think about it much deeper, there was a knock on the door, and then two agents walked in, then stood silently at the door. The same as Jessie and James, it was a man and a woman. But the contrast from Jessie, the woman had a pleasant smile on her face. The man was absolutely stoic, but looked at Meowth and nodded politely as they walked in.

Meowth recognized them. It was Cassidy, an agent who rivaled with Jessie, and her partner whose name Meowth didn't recall. The last time it had seen these two, they'd been really unpleasant. But that attitude hadn't really been directed at Meowth in particular, they just didn't like Jessie and James. Meowth was a little hesitant, but supposed things could work out. Maybe he could just talk to the boss if they didn't.

"Is this _your_ meowth, boss?" Cassidy asked.

"Meowth is special. Unlike other pokemon, it can exist with its own autonomy," Giovanni said. Cassidy nodded, and her partner raised an eyebrow as he gave Meowth a second look. "But yes," Giovanni continued. "This is the meowth you're now assigned to work for."

"We're honored, sir," Cassidy said.

"Yeah," her partner added.

Meowth looked up, jumping in surprise as it realized that the two of them weren't speaking to the boss, but Meowth itself. It tried to think of a polite response.

"Good. I trust you two will provide Meowth with everything it needs. You know the importance of the job you've been entrusted with."

"Of course, sir," Cassidy said. "We're entrusted with the important job of being your - of being _Meowth's_ faithful partners. We'll be completely diligent in this task."

"Good," Giovanni said. "I'll leave it to you, then."

With that, they were dismissed, and Meowth walked out with its new partners. The whole thing had been kind of abrupt, and Meowth still felt out of place. It almost wanted to ask about Jessie and James, and if these two had seen either of them. But since its new partners and former ones didn't exactly get along, so maybe that wasn't the best topic to start with.

When they'd reached the end of the hall, Cassidy turned to Meowth and gave a slight bow. "So sorry for not introducing myself before, sir. I'm Cassidy, and this is my partner, Butch. We're so pleased with our new assignment."

"For sure," Butch said.

"Yeah, I hope we can get a lot done. We won't make a name for ourselves just sitting around, you know," Meowth said.

"You're right, of course," Cassidy said.

Butch nodded. "You said it."

"Well, we'd like to make sure you feel alright first," Cassidy said. "Is there anything we can do? Are you hungry, thirsty?"

"Well, kind of both," Meowth admitted. "I did spend all night in the woods. Jessie and James had the food, so I didn't get anything to eat since yesterday at lunch." With that, Meowth had naturally brought up the two of them. Maybe now it could just casually ask them a question.

"That sounds awful! Let's be sure you're rested and taken care of before we get started anywhere," Cassidy said, ignoring the mention of her rival and attending only to Meowth.

"Yeah, buddy, let's go," Butch added.

They walked down the hall, going to the mess hall, Meowth knew. When they got there a group of grunts was sitting near the front. Cassidy and Butch walked up to them. "Move," Cassidy said.

"Hey, there's other seats," Meowth pointed out.

"Someone as high ranking as you can sit wherever you want," Cassidy said.

Even if that was true, Meowth hadn't said it wanted to sit there. Still, it said nothing as the grunts followed Cassidy's command, and then Cassidy and Butch both cleaned up after them. "I'll go get you something, you stay right there," Cassidy said as they finished.

Meowth sat down as its new partners went off. Butch was back within a second, carrying a stack of random books. "Are you gonna need these? For sitting?" he said.

"No," Meowth said. It was kind of awkward sitting in these seats meant for fully grown humans, but it could still reach the table. Having to get that kind of special treatment all the time just made Meowth stand out even more. "Hey," Meowth said to Butch as he put the books behind where they'd be sitting. "I guess you two are excited about working with me. But you don't have to go to all this trouble. I might be your new boss, but you don't need to treat me that specially, you know."

"Why not?" Butch asked as he sat down. "You really are remarkable, right?"

"Kind of," Meowth said. "I don't feel that special. It is good I'm the boss now, though. Maybe now I can actually get something done." Meowth paused. Yeah, it did seem difficult completing goals with Jessie and James, but it was still worried about them. When it had left, there had been a dangerous pokemon wandering around, after all. "Hey, did you hear what happened to Jessie and James since yesterday?" Meowth said.

"Hmph." Butch smirked. "Well, what do you think would happen to the idiots who deserted a prized Team Rocket agent like yourself in the woods?"

Meowth's mouth opened in surprise. Deserted? That hadn't been what happened. No, not even close. Was that what the boss thought? Meowth hadn't even implied it over the phone. Or had it? Meowth was at a loss for words when Cassidy came and dropped a tray in front of it.

"Here you are," she said. "We've already eaten, so don't hesitate."

"Thanks," Meowth said. It had lost some of its appetite thinking of Jessie and James, but they were probably fine. Being rivals to Jessie and James, Meowth's new partners weren't going to speak of either of Meowth's former partners fondly at all. But it was just typical bantering, and didn't mean that anything had happened to Jessie or James at all. Besides, Meowth had new partners, and shouldn't dwell on the old ones.

Meowth scarfed down on the food provided to it. Being so hungry, Meowth felt it tasted even better than usual. It was soon relaxed, and then turned to its new partners to start the conversation. "So, the boss didn't mention, but I guess his lab-ordered pokemon hasn't been caught yet."

"No," Cassidy confirmed. "Everyone's still looking for it."

"What do you guys know about it, anyway?" Meowth asked.

Cassidy and Butch paused, glancing each other's way. Meowth looked at them, confused at their hesitation. Then Cassidy turned to him, smiling reassuringly. "It's called Mewtwo," she said. "It was cloned from that illusive pokemon Team Rocket was never able to get its hands on. Of course, the modifications made it more powerful than Mew would ever hope to be."

"Wow. Sounds impressive," Meowth said. So that was what the boss had been hoping for. Not only that, but he'd been successful. Then Mewtwo had just gone and escaped on him. Meowth wanted to do its best to get back the boss's prize. Giovanni would praise it, and promote it to an even higher status, it was sure.

"This is top secret, but I know the boss won't mind us telling you, since you outrank us and all," Cassidy said.

"Aren't we the same rank?" Meowth asked.

"Oh, no," Cassidy said.

"You're our boss, so what are we?" Butch said, shrugging.

"I see," Meowth said. Being in charge was what it had wanted. Maybe that was how it had been with Jessie and James the entire time, and Meowth just hadn't been confident enough to assert itself. Talking to its new partners, no, underlings, Meowth's confidence was starting to build.

"I hope it's not rude for asking, but we have been very curious as to what happened over there with Mewtwo. Could you tell us?" Cassidy asked.

"Yeah, sure," Meowth said. Didn't they know? Butch had been so sure that Jessie and James had returned and gotten some kind of reprimand. It was just him blowing hot air after all, since these two didn't even know what happened in the first place, Meowth concluded. "There's not much for me to tell," Meowth said. "I showed up with Jessie and James, and we saw everyone getting beaten up. I got to see Mewtwo up close, and it was starting to attack us, so we, well, we just left," Meowth said. Maybe 'ran away' would be a better description of what they'd done, but Meowth didn't feel much like saying so. Phrasing it that way would imply either that Meowth was a coward or couldn't handle its former underlings.

"That's it?" Cassidy said.

"Yeah, nothing else happened after that, to me at least," Meowth said. Then it grinned. "But you guys would have gone back with me if we were there and we'd have figured it out, right?"

"Of course," Cassidy said.

"So why don't we figure it out right now?" Meowth said. "What else do you guys know about Mewtwo?"

"Oh, plenty," Cassidy began. "I'm sure the boss wants us to pass it on to you, too."

"Great, then go ahead," Meowth said as it continued to eat.

"Well, Mewtwo was created in a lab."

"I know that much," Meowth said.

"It destroyed the entire lab that created it. The boss was able to reacquire it before it got away," Cassidy continued the story.

"Really? Then what happened?" Meowth asked.

Cassidy shrugged. "It was as powerful as the boss that hoped. Mewtwo could defeat any kind of pokemon, even several at once, the boss said. But then it just decided to run away."

"Why?" Meowth asked. "I bet the boss prized that pokemon above all others. A pokemon like that could have really helped with our overall goal of world conquest, huh?"

"I guess that wasn't something Mewtwo wanted to help with," Butch said.

"Well, too bad, huh?" Meowth said. Without the boss funding that project, Mewtwo wouldn't even exist, would it? Mewtwo should be grateful, not only for just existing, but also the honor of being part of Team Rocket. "We'll figure out a way to get it back just like the boss wants, won't we?" Meowth added, looking at its other partners.

"I don't know," Butch said. "What about its 'autonomy'? You know, like the boss said you have. Shouldn't all pokemon have it?"

The guy was saying something weird, Meowth thought. "Yeah, maybe," Meowth said casually. "But this is the boss's pokemon, so the boss can be the one to think about that. We just need to get it back for him. You know that, right? So why would you even ask that question?"

"Well, we understand things the way you do, of course," Cassidy immediately replied. "But that's something people have been talking about. So that's just another barrier to us. Butch knows it's just something else we need to think about. Right?"

"Yeah." Butch nodded. "Everyone's been going on and on about we should try to talk to Mewtwo about leaving humans alone and going off to live its own life. It's a favorite little sob story. But you don't agree with it, do you, Meowth?"

"I don't care, I just want to get this pokemon back for the boss," Meowth said. It stood up, pushed its now empty tray to the side, and put its paw on the table. "This doesn't seem like it'll be easy. You have any ideas how we can overpower this thing?"

"I don't know," Butch said with a shrug. "You'd probably have a better idea than me, right?"

"You mean the boss has nothing, and is just throwing grunts at this thing?" Meowth said.

"I guess so," Cassidy said. "I mean, maybe the boss has something up his sleeve, but who knows?"

"Well, what did he tell you?" Meowth asked. It hadn't had much time to talk to Giovanni itself since returning. "You said he told you all kinds of top secret stuff, right? I know the boss wouldn't just put everything to waste like this. What's going on?"

"Hm," Cassidy said. There was a silence again. "Well, I guess it was too top secret for us," she said. "But, yeah, the boss could have something he's keeping hush. Not that he told me about anything, but there could be something he's planning."

"Or he could just be throwing us like darts until one of us hits," Butch said.

"No, I don't think so," Meowth said. "I guess we could go ask the boss himself while we're here."

"He'll be busy the rest of the day," Cassidy said.

"Oh," Meowth said. It made sense that the boss would be tied up with something or the other, since nearly the entire team was busy trying to get Mewtwo back. Then how could they be of any help? "Do we know where Mewtwo is now?" Meowth asked.

"No," Cassidy said.

"It couldn't have gotten far though. Or could it?" Butch considered.

Meowth nodded. "Then why don't we go out and join the search?" it suggested. Cassidy and Butch looked at each other, not saying anything. Meowth realized its mistake. It had suggested things more than ordered with Jessie and James, and these two were looking for an order. "Alright," Meowth continued. "I've decided. We _will_ get out there and search."

"Well, you're the boss," Butch said.

"That's right. If you wanted to go by air, we'll have to wait, there won't be a plane or anything available until then. What should we do, then?" Cassidy asked.

"Yeah, let's do that," Meowth said.

"Alright then. Don't worry, we'll get everything ready. We'll reserve transportation and get all the equipment we need," Cassidy assured. "I'll take care of it right now."

Meowth nodded and sat back. This job was going to be tough, but it was a lot easier with these two eager-to-please minions to help. Now, Meowth could just sit back and consider the situation. "Hey," it said to Butch, who had stayed while Cassidy had left to take care of the situation. "You think I could talk to some of those grunts that have battled against Mewtwo? Some of them are hanging around here, right?"

"Sure," Butch said, standing up. "Yeah, we can find someone."

* * *

Meowth spent the rest of the afternoon talking to all Team Rocket members who had gone against Mewtwo in the search. It wasn't able to find out anything very useful. Their stories were all very similar. They said when they'd tried to attack it, none of their pokemon could stand a chance. Many were simply tossed away before they could even land an attack.

As Meowth listened, it realized that was what had been happening to it. Mewtwo had been about to throw Meowth around, and Jessie and James, realizing they were outmatched, had been the quick thinkers. Meowth had new partners, but it still wanted to apologize to its former ones. Cassidy and Butch were helpful, but kind of distant and overdoing their efforts to impress. Meowth was happy for the reassignment, but still missed Jessie and James. Just being able to talk to them for a few minutes would be nice, even if they were still angry.

But it didn't have a chance. Though many of the grunts Meowth spoke to were right at the site where Meowth had seen Mewtwo with Jessie and James, its former partners themselves weren't around from what Meowth could see. Well, maybe they were avoiding it, Meowth considered. Or they could have just chosen not to come back to the base at all. That was like them, choosing not to return until they'd been absolutely successful, so it was probably what they'd done.

Meowth was kept busy enough talking to the other unhelpful agents, anyway. "Yeah... It was really scary..." one particularly spacey grunt said as he stared at the form he was filling out.

"Were you even able to get your pokemon to land a hit?" Meowth asked, goading him to the next part of what was becoming the usual conversation.

"Um, well, could I? Was I supposed to?" the grunt asked.

"How else you gonna capture it?" Meowth asked.

"With those things, right? We have those things, don't we?" the grunt said.

"What things?" Meowth asked.

"Pokeballs?" Butch suggested. "Come on, Meowth. I know this guy. He's not gonna be able to help you."

"No, wait! We did bring those things, right?"

Butch waved a hand in dismissal at the confused grunt, then began to usher Meowth away. "I think we're done. I mean, if you're satisfied, of course," Butch said.

"Yeah, I guess so. I get the idea. None of our resources are working. We can't get Mewtwo with force."

"Yeah, you could be right," Butch said.

"So, if we can't get it by beating it in a battle, we'll have to use some kinda trick, won't we?" Meowth said.

"What kind of trick can we use on something that beats the crap out of anything that comes near it?" Butch said, smirking. Then his face became serious. "I mean, that's just something to consider. No offence to your insight, there."

"None taken," Meowth said. It was a good point, anyway. Meowth thought back on the scene. Yeah, Mewtwo had been battling anything that came near it. Anything that wore a Team Rocket uniform, and any pokemon that followed that person's orders. But that little brat with the powerful pikachu had been untouched. In fact, neither Ash nor Pikachu had been concerned for their own safety at all. It was like they knew they were safe already. "It's only Team Rocket members Mewtwo is going after, right?"

"Well, since we're the only idiots trying to capture it, yeah, maybe," Butch said.

Meowth nodded. It continued to think back on the situation. Mewtwo's reaction to Meowth itself been kind of weird. "Maybe we just shouldn't approach it as Team Rocket members, then," Meowth said.

"Then as what?" Butch said. Meowth had no immediate response. "If we take off the uniforms and put on a disguise, is it really going to make a difference when we try and drag Mewtwo back to the boss?"

"Mewtwo wanted to see me," Meowth said. Butch was suddenly silent, looking at it for what it was going to say next. Meowth kept considering what had happened. The twerp had been there, annoying as usual. But at that point in time Ash hadn't only not been wary of Mewtwo, also hadn't been wary of them, either. In fact, he'd spoken to Meowth specifically, begging for some kind of help. Then Mewtwo had picked it up, though Meowth was neither threatening nor a threat to the powerful pokemon. Maybe there was another reason Mewtwo had paid attention to Meowth in particular. "Yeah, I don't know why, but Mewtwo was interested in talking to me, I think," Meowth explained.

"Do you really not know why?" Butch said. Meowth looked up at Butch with interest. Of course it didn't, but did this guy know? "Come on Meowth, anyone who watches the news for a minute would know why Mewtwo would want to talk to you," Butch said.

"Why's that?" Meowth said.

"You still can't think of why?" Butch said.

"Running around on missions I don't exactly have time to sit around and keep up with current events," Meowth said.

"Yeah, well right now we are current events," Butch said. He motioned to Meowth, and they walked down the hall to the lobby where a TV was. Meowth sat down and watched. Mewtwo was the hot topic of conversation. They had all the facts wrong. They didn't even know Team Rocket was involved, or at least didn't talk about it. They just mentioned the name for the group the boss had funded, and how there were a lot of trained employees out there to eliminate the problem.

The trained employees were Team Rocket members. Eliminating the problem would involve returning to the boss what he'd lost. It was surprising that the boss had manipulated the media to this extent, but Meowth still had no idea what Butch had been talking about.

Until someone came on talking about Mewtwo's choice should be considered. This pokemon professor argued that pokemon were more than just mindless beasts, and their own choices should be considered, rather than the ones forced on them by humans. Other powerful pokemon were just left alone, the person argued. So even if this one had been created artificially, the choices it had made itself should be respected.

But the guy was just brushed off, Meowth noticed, as others pointed out the damage that Mewtwo had done, and what a threat that was. It gave every indication that it was a mindless beast, the general consensus seemed to be, as all pokemon without proper trainers would act as such. But the professor continued to argue. Meowth was surprised to hear itself mentioned in a way. As the professor continued to argue his point, he pointed out that meowth who could intelligently converse in human language had been spotted in various areas throughout Kanto.

The professor's claim was mocked. Meowth doubted there was any other meowth that could talk other than itself. It had just been spotted in a lot of different places all over Kanto, that was all. Learning to speak human language hadn't been easy at all. If it was, more pokemon would do so. It had taken a lot of effort. Meowth sighed as the debate ended, seemingly on the side of Team Rocket. Meowth tuned out as the advertisements began. It wasn't for sure, but maybe Mewtwo thought that Meowth could help it just by talking.

That was more than enough sitting around, Meowth considered. Looking to the side, it saw Butch was no longer sitting down watching the program with it. Meowth peered around, finding him by the door with Cassidy. Standing there together, the two of them were a lot more easygoing as they smiled and laughed with each other. They seemed a lot more natural than they had been acting today. Meowth was glad they'd relaxed. Getting assigned to work with a pokemon the boss considered important combined with all the stress every rocket member was under now because of the situation, that had likely been the reason they'd been acting so weird. But maybe they'd act more naturally as time went on, as they were now.

Meowth approached Cassidy and Butch now. "Hey, guys," it said. The both of them straightened up right away, their casual expressions turning blank and cold. Meowth frowned. No, they really weren't comfortable around it yet.

Cassidy soon smiled at it anyway. "I've got everything ready, sir," she said. "We'll be prepared to go tomorrow."

"You wanted us to go in stealth, right?" Butch said.

"Yeah," Meowth said hesitantly. It really wasn't sure what it wanted to do yet. But the two of them in Team Rocket uniforms in the unlikely event they actually did find Mewtwo tomorrow would basically paint a big target on the group. "Yeah, you two dress all casual, it couldn't hurt."

"Right. I understand. I'll also make additional preparations for our transportation to be more stealthy as well," Cassidy said. "I'll be right back, sir."

Meowth nodded, and looked at Butch as Cassidy left. His expression had softened, and he stared after her almost dreamily. "Hey," Meowth said. "You like her, don't you?" it teased.

"That's none of your business," Butch said. His expression had changed completely, and he glared at Meowth angrily. Meowth was startled. Its new partners reaction wasn't that big a deal, but these two had both been falling over themselves with pleasantries the entire day, and now Butch's demeanor had completely changed. He seemed to realize it himself, and put on a smile, though it looked very forced to Meowth. "Sorry, boss. I just didn't want to talk about that. You understand," Butch said.

"Oh, yeah, sure," Meowth said. "Love's kind of gotten to be an unpleasant topic for me, too."

"Hm?" Butch raised an eyebrow. "For you? You're a pokemon, though."

"Yeah, pokemon have romances too, you know. I've had my own share of heartbreak."

"Really?" Butch said, smirking.

"Yeah," Meowth confirmed.

"So tell me about it," Butch said.

"There was a lady meowth I fell head over heals for. The first time I saw her, it was magical."

"How could you even be sure it was a her?" Butch asked.

"You know, she had those feminine charms. I fell for her right away."

"That fast, huh? And then what?"

"Well, she rejected me, no matter how much I tried to impress her. I learned to talk for her, you know. Then she still treated me the same, no, worse," Meowth said, frowning. It looked up at Butch. "What about you? What's your story?"

"No story to tell," Butch said curtly. "Too bad for you though, huh?"

Meowth nodded. There was an awkward silence now. Meowth felt the seconds tick by slowly until Cassidy returned. "Well sir, we're all set to go for tomorrow. Would you like to rest now?" she said.

"Sure," Meowth said. It wanted to look some things up in the database first, though. "I'll be on the computer. You two can tuck in if you want. I'm gonna stay up and look some things up."

"Oh, don't worry, we'll be right here to help you," Cassidy said, nodding quickly.

"Yeah, no way we'd quit before our boss did," Butch added.

"Okay," Meowth said. It stood on the chair in front of the computer to work, but couldn't get started as Cassidy and then Butch came over, offering it various things, and checking to see if it was comfortable. These new partners were getting to be kind of annoying in addition to over the top with their brown-nosing.

Not being able to get anything done, Meowth eventually turned in. It ended up sharing the tiny dorm that Butch was assigned to. There was just one tiny bed. If it were with Jessie or James, it definitely would have shared, but now it looked at Butch, not knowing what to say.

"Please, you take the bed, I'll just sleep on the floor," Butch said.

Before Meowth could reply, Butch had taken a blanket, and had already made himself 'comfortable' right on the floor next to the bed. Meowth felt kind of bad, but was too tired to argue. It curled up on the bed, which had plenty of room, and went to sleep.

* * *

Meowth awoke feeling refreshed. It noticed Butch was already up and dressed in casual clothing, standing right against the door, appearing bored. Meowth yawned and jumped off the bed. "You ready to go already?" it said.

"Sure, any time you are," Butch said.

"Let's go then," Meowth said. They walked down the hall, eventually meeting up with Cassidy. Meowth did a double take as it looked at her. She was all dressed up, in a cute little outfit with a short skirt, showing cleavage. Looking at Butch, Meowth was amused to see he was getting a little flustered. Despite what he said, he really did like her.

"Hm," Cassidy said, smiling at Butch. "Looking at your outfit, I think I might be a little overdressed. What do you think?"

"Yeah, we're going on a nature hike, not to some kind of party," Butch said.

"Yeah, I wasn't really thinking about it. I'll go change," Cassidy said.

As she left, Meowth grinned at Butch. "Too bad, huh? You thought that was some nice eye candy, didn't you?"

Butch scowled. "She's not my eye candy. She's my partner, and a damn good one."

"Sure. Don't worry, I won't tell," Meowth said. Despite that it was just joking around, Butch's unpleasant expression didn't disappear until Cassidy came back, now dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, ready to get going.

They got on an unmarked helicopter, and took off at the same time as several others, which were marked with Team Rocket's red "R" symbol. Their direction formed away slightly from the others, though Meowth could still see them nearby. "Where are they headed?" Meowth asked.

"Oh, well, the thing's been spotted," Cassidy said. "You can track it there, if you want," she said, pointing to a screen. Meowth looked at it. The map measured some kind of energy that pokemon gave off. There were dots all over the place, but a particularly large concentration of energy that was probably Mewtwo. They were getting closer, almost right on top of it, then landed.

As they got out of the plane, Meowth still wasn't really sure what they were doing. "Aren't we pretty close?" it asked.

"Yeah," Cassidy said casually.

"I knew we'd be looking for it, but what should we do now that we're here?" Meowth asked.

"Shouldn't you be telling us that?" Butch said.

"That's right. From what Butch told me, you wanted to talk to it," Cassidy said.

No. The message had gotten mixed, traveling from Meowth's mind, to him and now to her. Meowth shook its head. "That's not it," Meowth said. "Mewtwo's the one that wants to talk to me."

"And why would that be?" Cassidy asked.

"I don't know," Meowth said. Though it had speculation to the reasons, it was telling the truth. Meowth's partners raised their eyebrows, in suspense for what else it might say. Meowth continued. "Yeah, it's weird. Mewtwo said it had met me before when I saw it. Not just me, but Jessie and James too, I think."

"You did, right?" Butch said.

Meowth shook its head. "No, I don't remember anything like that."

Cassidy and Butch exchanged glances and their eyes widened, becoming more alert. "Are you sure?" Cassidy asked.

"Yeah. I saw Mewtwo twice, once with the boss when it was just some thing sleeping in a tube, and another time the day before yesterday."

"And what did you talk about yesterday?" Cassidy asked.

"Nothing. Didn't I tell you that already?" Meowth said. It was becoming irritated. Why was she suddenly asking these kinds of questions?

Cassidy smiled. "Yeah," she said. Butch walked away, back to the plane.

"Where are you going?" Meowth asked him. "Hey, and don't you two think it's weird that Mewtwo's so close to the base? Wouldn't it be trying to avoid us?"

"Not when we have something it wants," Butch said, stepping out from the plane.

He was holding a bag. Meowth looked at it, sure that whatever Mewtwo wanted would be inside. "What's that?" Meowth said.

Butch just smirked, glancing toward Cassidy. "Sorry, sir. We just want to be sure we have the full picture. You understand. We've just been a little confused. So clarify it for us. You've never met Mewtwo? Never had any personal conversations with it? You wouldn't happen to know where its been hiding out then, would you?"

"No!" Meowth said, increasingly irritated with Cassidy's questioning. "Don't you think I would have told the boss, and he would have done something already?"

Cassidy looked at Butch, who shrugged. "I believe it," he said.

What was this, Meowth thought angrily. Why wouldn't they believe it, and why were they talking about Meowth like it wasn't even there. "Hey," Meowth began.

"I guess I do too," Cassidy said, ignoring that Meowth had even spoken.

"Yeah, then that's that then," Butch said. He unzipped the bag he was holding.

"Raticate, go!" Cassidy said, throwing out her pokeball.

Butch put down the bag he was carrying and threw out his own pokeball. "Primeape, get ready!"

"Hey, I don't think you need your pokemon right now. Put them away," Meowth said.

"You know Meowth, sometimes you seem smart, but right now you're being pretty dense," Butch said.

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't drag this out, Butch. Let's just get it done and leave," Cassidy said.

"Right," Butch said, taking something out of the bag. Meowth noticed as they did, both of their pokemon moved closer to Meowth, almost surrounding it. As Meowth look a step closer to Butch to see what he was getting out, the raticate hissed for Meowth to stay still. It didn't know its place, Meowth realized. But Meowth had already told the two of them to put their annoying pokemon away, and they'd ignored it.

Butch continued to ignore it now, still messing around with his bag. "It really is a shame though. Aren't we wasting something, throwing out a discovery like this?"

"Just like Meowth said, that's for the boss to decide, isn't it?" Cassidy said.

"Yeah," Meowth said. But wasn't Giovanni going to try and preserve Mewtwo for himself, despite what the news said about eliminating it? Meowth continued to observe Butch, who was setting up some kind of device. It didn't look that impressive. "Hey, what's that?" Meowth asked him.

Butch briefly glanced its way. "You know Meowth, there's some debate going on about pokemon. If they're autonomous, if they're intelligent, stuff like that," he said. Meowth wasn't sure why he was rambling, so didn't respond. "It's always been kind of obvious to me that pokemon weren't completely mindless. I knew they had some kind of understanding. I just didn't know how much. That's how most people feel, I bet. But just talking to you a short time, 'most people' would realize that you're pretty much equal to humans. But you aren't really that much more intelligent than the average pokemon, are you?"

"Sure I am," Meowth said.

"A little, but it's not like you gained some kind of ability to understand that they never had, is it?" Butch said.

"Of course not," Meowth said. It got was Butch was saying. Maybe Meowth was just a little smarter than the average pokemon, but its abilities were developed was because of extreme unrivaled diligence and effort, not because it had some epiphany of sentience. Its reasoning and awareness of its own existence were more or less the same as any other pokemon.

"Lots of people would find that interesting, wouldn't they?" Butch said.

"Well, maybe a little more than 'interesting'," Cassidy said.

"Yup. People could still make up excuses for why pokemon were inferior, but this meowth would get them talking, wouldn't it?" Butch said.

"Who cares!" Meowth exclaimed. "We've got to figure out what we're doing here."

"Who cares, it says," Butch said, looking at Cassidy with a shrug as he finished putting together the device. "Isn't it funny? This thing might change the world, but it doesn't give a shit, the same as the boss."

Cassidy rolled her eyes, but said nothing. So they were judging it like that, Meowth realized. Their over-the-top esteem for Meowth had now turned into scorn because Meowth wasn't doing more and more out there in the world, had it? Meowth didn't need to hear that. "You two shut your traps," Meowth said. "If you don't like me, fine! But we've got a job to do."

"True," Cassidy said.

"Let's get to it then," Butch said. "This might be tough."

"Yeah, it's really not all that easy to kill a pokemon," Cassidy said.

"So that's the goal now?" Meowth said, furrowing its brow in confusion.

"It's our's," Cassidy said.

"But what about the boss's orders?" Meowth asked.

"Don't worry, we aren't deviating from those," Cassidy said.

"You wouldn't either, right Meowth?" Butch said.

"No," Meowth said uneasily. Though it was confident in what it said, it couldn't shake this weird feeling. The disconcerting blank expressions of the humans along with their pokemon's offensive stances around it weren't helping things much, either. "Would you two put your pokemon away already?" it asked.

The pokemon didn't back off, and the humans didn't make any move to go along with Meowth's request. Butch held up the object that he'd been messing with. It was a spear-shaped object, some buttons on the side. Butch began to press them. "I'd almost been feeling bad about this," Butch said to Cassidy.

"Can you two even hear me?" Meowth began. "I said-"

"Yeah, we hear you," Butch interrupted. Sparks began to appear around the blade. "You're a Team Rocket agent, through and through, right? You're a hundred percent loyal, and you won't waver even a little bit, will you?"

"Of course, but what does that have to do with anything?" Meowth asked.

"Well, it just means that any pokemon that's been thinking that you might be some kind of savior, some kind of bridge between worlds to help them, they'd wrong, huh? Since you're just he same kind of sick freak as any other rocket."

"Yeah, fine. I guess that's right," Meowth said. "Now can we get to work?"

"Yeah," Butch said with a sigh. "Hearing that, I can do this."

"Even if it was the opposite, you'd do it anyway, wouldn't you?" Cassidy said.

"Guess so," Butch said. "It's just now I don't even have to feel guilty. I'd be doing all pokemon counting on this one a favor. Better their hero die than their hope, right?"

"Sure. Raticate, bite attack!" Cassidy ordered.

Meowth was shocked as Cassidy's pokemon ripped bit into its arm. "Hey!" Meowth said. It got into a defensive stance, then used its fury swipes attack.

"Primeape, you help," Butch said. "Thrash attack, now!"

Before Meowth even turned around completely, it was kicked multiple times by the thrash attack. The shock of the situation had worn off, and Meowth knew it was in trouble. It got up and jumped over Raticate, running into the woods to try and lose them.

What was this? Meowth was so angry to think that these two would dare attack it. What was wrong with them? That question was overshadowed by its need to get away. Meowth eventually stopped running so they couldn't find it just by the noise it was making. It pressed itself against a tree, hopefully out of their line of sight.

"Meowth?" Meowth heard Butch calling for it. There was some kind of loud sound, and Meowth could smell something burning. Whatever weapon he was holding was pretty dangerous, Meowth realized.

"Primeape!" Butch's pokemon dared Meowth to come out.

"It better not have escaped." When Cassidy spoke, Meowth could tell she was even closer than him. It considered whether or not it should make a break for it.

"It couldn't be that far away," Butch said.

"Raticate," Cassidy's pokemon hissed, also calling for Meowth to face it.

"I'll just go get the tracker," Cassidy said. Meowth tensed up. Well, she'd have to leave a moment to get it, and Meowth could escape from these psychos then, hopefully, it thought. It heard Cassidy walking away.

"Come on Meowth," Butch called, now standing where Cassidy had been. "You want to go along with the boss's will, right? Well, the boss wants you dead."

Hearing that, Meowth was filled with a rush of anger. "You're lying!" it accused aloud.

Butch realized where Meowth was just as soon as Meowth realized its mistake. The chase began. Meowth ran farther and farther, before it found a little hole in the ground and hid, thinking it might be safe there. Butch and Primeape had run past it, but now doubled back. "Come on Meowth, you haven't figured it out even now? You're pretty gullible. We've only been baby-sitting you. The boss wanted to know everything you knew about Mewtwo, and once we figured that out, he wanted you dead!" Butch shouted.

He was lying, Meowth knew. There was just no way that was true. Hunching down in the hole, Meowth could see Butch as he looked around, still not noticing Meowth. Primeape jumped into the trees to look itself. Butch frowned, swinging his weapon which seared a line down the nearby tree before it toppled over. Meowth felt a deep fear at seeing it. That kind of device might not be effective on all pokemon, certainly not powerful ones like Mewtwo, but it would hurt Meowth for sure. Cassidy had been right that it wasn't really that easy to kill pokemon, but this kind of thing might do the job.

"Just like your loser partners, you're gonna get tossed out," Butch taunted.

Besides being afraid, Meowth was sick upon hearing that. That wasn't true either, there was no way it was. So Meowth hadn't seen Jessie and James since they'd parted ways, it didn't mean anything! They were definitely still alive, both of them. Butch was just trying to get Meowth to let down its guard again.

Meowth would love to see them then. This was like a nightmare, and Meowth wanted to wake up to its previous reality. So Jessie and James didn't give it all the regard it would have liked, and they weren't always successful. Still, the two of them were still great partners, and could be caring friends. There was no way anything had happened to them, on the boss's orders or otherwise.

Even repeating this to itself, Meowth felt fear seep in for the two of them. As if maybe something had actually happened to them. Maybe they were really killed by the boss, and Meowth was next. How could anything like that be true? It couldn't, yet evidence was starting to pile up that it was. Tears began to fill Meowth's eyes.

As Butch stepped nearby it, Meowth let out a cry, giving itself away. It stood up, ready to attack. But it was done for, wasn't it? Butch swung his weapon toward Meowth mercilessly. It was only Butch's own pokemon leaping to attack Meowth that caused him to stop. "Watch it!" Butch yelled.

Meowth jumped, and tried to run away. As Primeape pursued, it soon got closer to Meowth. "Prime, dynamic punch!" Butch yelled.

"Primeape!" Primeape acknowledged the order. As it got closer to Meowth, it began to swing its fist, which started glowing red. Meowth shouted and tried to speed up, but Primeape easily landed the attack. Just from the force, Meowth was pushed forward. As it fell to the ground it struggled to regain consciousness, completely dazed from the attack.

"Out of the way," Butch ordered as he approached. Primeape jumped away, and Butch went to swing at Meowth again for the final blow. Just as he did, he found his weapon was caught on something. Butch irritably pulled. "What's this?" he said, looking at the vines now attached to the weapon.

"Stop!" a familiar voice yelled.

Butch looked up. Meowth blinked, knowing who had spoken even in his dazed state.

Ash adjusted his hat, still holding out his hand heroically. "This isn't right! Stop attacking Meowth!" he said.

"Get the hell out of here, kid. You don't know what you're getting into," Butch warned.

"Squirtle, now!" Ash said.

Squirtle jumped in front of Ash, spraying Butch in the face with its water gun attack. Momentarily surprised, Butch's grip loosened. Bulbasaur, already having a firm grip on the weapon, lifted it up and tossed it a long distance away. "Bulbasaur!" it said, satisfied with what it had done.

"Pikachu, thundershock!" Ash ordered, pointing at Butch's primeape.

"Pika CHU!" Pikachu shouted, releasing its electric attack before Primeape could attack Squirtle.

Butch wiped his eyes and glared at Ash. "You really think this is the way to go, kid?" he asked.

"Well, yeah," Ash said. "This is important. Team Rocket's not going to play fair, so I won't either. I'm using all my pokemon at once. You're not being fair now either, you know."

Butch shook his head. That wasn't what he'd meant. He could beat this little brat who only had a group of unevolved pokemon easily. As Ash began to walk toward Meowth, Butch also approached him. "Primeape-" he began.

A roar interrupted Butch, and Charizard flew down from the sky, hitting Butch to the ground as it went toward his pokemon. The flying pokemon then spit fire toward Primeape. "Thanks, Charizard," Ash said. He leaned down to pick up Meowth.

"Hey, twerp?" Meowth said, still dazed.

"It's okay, Meowth," Ash assured. "We'll get you to a pokemon center. Nurse Joy can help you."

Meowth could neither comment nor protest. It barely had the energy to keep its eyes open as Ash carried it. Eventually, walking away from the scene, Meowth passed into unconsciousness.


	4. Ash and Pikachu

**4**  
**Ash and Pikachu**

Meowth awoke on a soft bed, covered with a warm blanket. It was momentarily disoriented before it remembered what had happened. Looking around the room, which was lit only by the light of the moon, Meowth saw several beds, all empty, and various medical supplies in cabinets and on shelves. So, it was at a pokemon center. That's where the twerp had said he was taking it, so it made sense.

Meowth panicked as it felt some movement on the bed, but then looked down and saw it was just Ash. Ash was sitting on a chair. He had leaned over, resting his head on the foot of the bed before falling asleep, apparently. Though it was pretty sure the kid was fast asleep, Meowth was still careful as it stepped off the bed. Now on the floor, Meowth could also see Pikachu by Ash's feet. "Chaa..." Pikachu yawned, then sighed, also asleep.

Now Meowth should get out of there, leaving the kid and his pikachu behind. Even with this urge to go, Meowth hesitated, thinking of what happened. Those back stabbers had really done a number on it. That one guy had been rambling some upsetting things, too. It was all a lie, though. How infuriating, that they'd go so far with their treachery and lies.

Even as it thought that, Meowth still couldn't take the initiative to even walk out the door, let alone return to the rocket base. Though the initial anger and lingering effects of the fear in that kind of situation were starting to wear off in a place like this. Meowth stared out at the moon. It was round, and would soon wax into a perfect full form. These clear, moonlit nights were the best when it was out camping with Jessie and James. They'd be able to see any kinds of danger that were around right away. With an atmosphere like that, Meowth was able to sleep easier. Even if on the uncomfortable ground, it was surrounded by Jessie, James, and their pokemon for protection form any troublemakers that might wander through.

If it heard something, Meowth could just look around and see where the sound had come from. If it was something like a caterpie, no problem. If it was a more threatening pokemon, or maybe a human coming through, Meowth could wake up Jessie and James to deal with it or they'd all get out of the place together.

As the moon waned, approaching the new moon, or if it was cloudy or raining, well, those nights could be more stressful. They'd sometimes keep a fire, but if they didn't want to be tracked, that was out of the question, too. Despite the rumors about seeing in the dark, Meowth's feline eyes could only take advantage of limited light. If there was no light at all, then it couldn't see at all.

Even though the moon was almost full, Meowth felt similarly now to how it had then. Meowth's consciousness said that Butch and Cassidy were both terrible liars with an agenda that wasn't the boss's. That was what Meowth believed, but it was in the dark, with no proof of its own beliefs. No matter how many times Meowth's consciousness reaffirmed those beliefs, its subconscious wouldn't accept them, and continued to ring alarm bells. Rather than think about why it couldn't completely trust the only group that it ever had, Meowth just wanted to sit there and look at the almost-perfectly round moon for a while.

"Hey, you're up."

Meowth straightened up, then looked to the side. There was Ash, Pikachu at his feet. Both of them were wide awake now. It didn't really trust these two either, either. They had jumped in and saved Meowth because they wanted something, that much was obvious. "Hey twerp, I hope you don't think we're friends now or anything."

"Pika," Pikachu said crossly. It certainly didn't.

"Yeah... Are you feeling better now?" Ash asked.

"Sure," Meowth said. "But-"

"That's great," Ash said, sighing in relief. "I was really worried."

"Oh really? Why? You never worried about me before, always having your pokemon attack me and my partners," Meowth said.

"Hey! That's not fair!" Ash yelled.

"Pika pika! Pikapi, pikchu!" Pikachu chided.

Meowth frowned. Yeah, they both had a point. That situation was completely different from when Meowth had battled these two in the past. They'd been defending themselves against thieves, and never made threats like his so called teammates just had. "Yeah, sorry," it said. "You were real generous and all to help me out, but don't think I'm gonna repay the favor like you want me to."

"Yeah," Ash said, frowning. "I know, I'm sorry. I know it wasn't right for someone to try and get your help like that. Even if we're on the same side, I just had to stop him."

"Pikachu." Pikachu agreed that it had been taken way too far.

"Hey, wait, you two think he's on your 'side'? What side's that?" Meowth asked.

"You know, the side that wanted to stop Team Rocket. We want to let Mewtwo and its friends go wherever they want without being bothered. Bullying another pokemon to help us... Even one from Team Rocket... That's not the way to do that," Ash said.

Meowth remembered now that its treacherous partners had gone out without their uniforms on. And Ash and his pokemon had just helped Meowth, not really knowing what was going on, and even thinking he might be going against his own ally. "That guy was a Team Rocket member," Meowth decided to tell them.

"Oh? That makes sense. Team Rocket's pretty bad, huh," Ash commented.

"It's not like that! He was going against our boss's orders. My boss doesn't want anything to happen to me! Yeah, that guy and his partner were just traitors." Meowth finished, glaring at Ash. It was ready to argue with Ash about it. Then if Meowth won, it would feel like it was right somehow. Meowth waited for the counter-argument.

"Oh, okay," Ash said, nodding. "Yeah, a lot of bad people join Team Rocket, huh?"

Meowth was at a loss for words a moment, having convinced Ash so easily. Pikachu also just sat there, blinking calmly, having no problem with what Meowth had just said. Even though Meowth itself did.

But Meowth wanted so badly to believe what it had just told these two. It wanted to just nod like Ash was or silently accept the spin on events as a fact like Pikachu, but it couldn't. It was much more involved than these two. Meowth had plenty of reason to believe that maybe Butch and Cassidy hadn't been traitors at all, and that it had become the unwanted one in Team Rocket.

There was one thing that would convince Meowth of its falsehood, though. Butch had heavily implied that Jessie and James were dead. Yeah, that seemed over the top, even for the boss. It might make sense that the boss would want to eliminate Meowth, but it had no reason to eliminate Jessie or James, at least that Meowth knew of. All Meowth needed to do was to see their goofy faces, and it would know that it wasn't really on Team Rocket's hit list.

"Hey, kid," Meowth began. "Have you seen Jessie or James around?"

"Yeah," Ash said. Meowth felt relieved. Then Ash continued. "I saw them when Team Rocket was attacking Mewtwo. Remember? You were there."

"I mean after that!" Meowth snapped.

"No," Ash said, shaking his head. "I wondered what happened to all of you. I only saw you when that other guy was fighting with you."

Meowth frowned. So Jessie and James's fate was still a mystery. Thinking about it, Meowth realized that there would have been any number of reasons the boss might have gotten rid of them. Maybe they had refused the boss's orders to kill Meowth, then gone off to try and find Meowth to warn it. That sounded like something those two might do. Running away from the large group that was Team Rocket, they might not have gotten far. Just thinking of this one of many possibilities for what had happened to them, Meowth felt cold.

"So you're not a part of Team Rocket anymore, Meowth?" Ash asked.

"Pikachu."

Meowth scowled at Ash's question and Pikachu's comment. "Of course I'm part of Team Rocket," it insisted. "Yeah, no traitor's gonna change my loyalty."

"Pika," Pikachu sighed.

"Oh," Ash said. "Yeah, okay." He looked down at the floor with disappointment.

"Pikapi, pikachu," Pikachu consoled, patting Ash on the shoulder.

Meowth rolled its eyes. "Yeah, you shouldn't have even assumed I'd be leaving Team Rocket in the first place."

"I know," Ash said. "Misty said the same thing. And Brock, too. They said a pokemon like you... Um, well, that you can't be counted on for anything."

Meowth's faced twitched in annoyance. "They really don't know anything. You can count on me when I want to be counted on."

"Oh! So you are going to help us?" Ash asked happily.

"No," Meowth insisted. The kid was only hearing what he wanted to hear. "What is it you'd want my help for, anyway? I keep hearing that, but you never ask what for."

"Well, um," Ash began. "Yeah. Mewtwo and its friends think if you start talking about how it should be left alone, more people will listen. I guess we wouldn't know what would happen after then, anyway."

"Pika, pikachu? Pika," Pikachu said, suggesting that other pokemon might be treated better after Meowth spoke out as well, or at least that's what others had said.

"I don't think the boss wants me to do that right now," Meowth said. Then again, what the boss might want is just for Meowth to disappear, Meowth thought with a pain in its chest.

"Pika pika," Pikachu said.

"Yeah, well it's too bad for them for assuming too much," Meowth said in response to Pikachu's comment that a lot of pokemon had gotten their hopes up.

Ash clenched his fist. Then he relaxed. "Yeah, alright Meowth. I'm just glad you're okay."

Meowth said nothing. It being okay was the only satisfaction that Ash was going to get out of his heroic exploits. They wanted a loyal Team Rocket member to go against the group, and that wasn't happening. But the idea that Ash and his pokemon had been so selfless left a bad taste in Meowth's mouth.

"Will you really be okay? I mean, when you go back?" Ash asked.

"Maybe not," Meowth said. It hadn't really meant to answer aloud. Ash and Pikachu both looked over at it with some concern. "I don't have to go back right away, anyway," it said. Meowth definitely wanted to return, and as soon as possible, but its lack of faith still had it hesitating. Meowth felt both sick both for the possibility that Cassidy and Butch had been telling the truth as well as the very idea that it was no longer valued by Team Rocket.

"Yeah! You can stay with us. Why don't you talk to everyone? Then you can decide what to do," Ash said.

"Kid, don't be like that," Meowth muttered. It had already decided what to do, pretty much. Though it was appreciative for Ash's help, it just wasn't _that_ appreciative. Making Ash think that Meowth might change its mind, that would be crueler than just rejecting him outright. Meowth was doing him a favor by not giving in.

But if it wasn't going to just go running back to headquarters, what should it do? Meowth looked up at the sky, staring at the moon as it considered that question. The moon really was nice and clear on that cloudless night. Meowth enjoyed taking in the light.

"It's nice, huh?" Ash said.

"Pika," Pikachu agreed.

"It's a full moon, isn't it?" Ash said.

"What?" Meowth said. "Hey twerp, you should be able to clearly see it's not a full moon at all!"

"It's not?" Ash said.

"Yeah, look at that shape. It's no where near the beautifully perfect round shape. This is called a waxing gibbous moon. That means it's approaching a full moon, but not there quite yet. I'd say maybe another night, then we'll have our full moon."

"Oh," Ash said. "Yeah, I guess you're right. You're pretty smart, Meowth."

"I don't need that many smarts for this," Meowth said, staring out at the moon again. Then it looked back at Ash. "Hey, I might go and talk to who you want... I mean, just because I don't have anything else to do."

"Really?" Ash said, his expression brightening as his voice filled with hope.

"Yeah. Don't think I'll do anything you want though," Meowth said.

"I know... Yeah, I know," Ash said, though he clenched his fist with determination, as if he really didn't know what Meowth was saying. "Everyone will be happy just to talk to you, I bet," Ash said. "It'll be great, right Pikachu?"

"Pika," Pikachu said, turning away. It couldn't really agree with Ash completely on that.

"Who's 'everyone' though?"

"All the pokemon!" Ash said. Meowth didn't say anything. That really wasn't a very descriptive response. "You know!" Ash said. "Well, I guess you don't. Mewtwo erased our memories."

"Pika pika. Pikachu, pika pi," Pikachu continued, explaining how there were a lot of cloned pokemon, not just Mewtwo.

"So the boss made a bunch of clones?" Meowth said. "I thought he only was interested in that one."

"No, Mewtwo cloned other pokemon. I guess so it wouldn't be as lonely," Ash explained. "Sometimes Team Rocket thinks the cloned pokemon are Mewtwo when they're looking for it."

Meowth nodded. There was definitely something skewy about Mewtwo's energy as compared to just any pokemon's energy on the tracking device that Cassidy and Butch had been using. Meowth had assumed that it was because Mewtwo was so powerful, but it might be because Mewtwo was a clone.

"So everyone's found a place to hide. Team Rocket's even having trouble finding them. I'll take you there," Ash said.

"Pikapi, pi pikachu," Pikachu pointed out.

Meowth felt a little awkward translating that, but what Pikachu said Meowth itself had wondered about. The question should be obvious even to Ash's mind. "Your buddy wants to know why you'd bother bringing me. I'm part of Team Rocket, you know."

"Pika." Pikachu nodded.

"It's okay, Pikachu. Meowth isn't going to go back to Team Rocket right away, just like it said," Ash said to Pikachu, then turned to Meowth. "So then you can come with us, right Meowth?"

Meowth was about to open its mouth to protest, but then realized it had actually said exactly this to Ash and Pikachu. No, Meowth didn't need to, and probably really shouldn't, go running back to base. Meowth felt a little guilty, thinking that maybe if it hung out with Ash and his powerful pikachu, it could be protected from any Team Rocket agents that might be after it. At least more than on its own. "Yeah, fine, I'll go to your hide away and meet your pokemon pals," Meowth agreed.

"Really?" Ash said. Meowth nodded, though it felt guilty at just how enthusiastic Ash seemed about that. "Alright!" Ash cheered upon seeing Meowth's affirmation. "Let's hurry up and go."

"Pikachu," Pikachu said with some amusement.

"Yeah, Pikachu's right. Maybe we should wait until morning at least," Meowth said.

"Oh," Ash said, peering toward the still night sky. "Right," he said. Ash laughed, sheepishly putting a hand to his head. Meowth noted his cheerful expression, not fading at all in the moonlight.

* * *

Meowth opened its eyes as it heard Ash talking loudly outside. It looked toward the open door, but didn't see him. As Meowth looked over to the side, it saw Nurse Joy staring down at it. "Well, you're feeling better today, aren't you?" she said.

Meowth nodded, unsure if it wanted to speak and draw attention to itself by speaking. Nurse Joy cheerfully picked it up. "No pokeball for you at the moment, is there? Well, the trainer that took care of you is really nice. He takes care of his pokemon. Maybe you'll join him."

Like hell, Meowth thought, but still said nothing. It was carried to the front where Ash and Pikachu were waiting. "Here you are. This Meowth recovered nicely," Nurse Joy said.

"Thanks, Nurse Joy," Ash said. "Come on, Meowth. Let's go to breakfast, okay?"

Breakfast, really, Meowth thought to itself. Though it was supposedly the most important meal of the day, Meowth often ended up skipping it when traveling with Jessie and James. After all, if they started eating their limited supplies right at the start of the day, they might have nothing left for any other meal. Meowth followed Ash into the pokemon center's cafeteria. Ash picked up a tray, then took out his pokeballs.

"Come on out, everybody," Ash said. As he threw out his pokeballs, Bulbasaur, Squirtle, Charizard, Pidgeotto, and Krabby appeared. "Alright, let's see. Here's the water-type food," Ash said, taking out a container.

Charizard roared and nudged Ash's arm, causing him to drop the container. "Charizard! Wait your turn. I've got to take care of everyone else too." Charizard again roared in protest, spitting out a bit of fire as it did. Ash put the container on the ground for Squirtle and Krabby, but Charizard's was the very next one. Ash quickly got the rest of the pokemon's food out before he went to sit down himself in front of his meal.

"You're feeding them all now?" Meowth said. It could see feeding Pikachu, but the other five just didn't make sense. "If you keep them in their pokeballs, doesn't that save their energy? Then you might not have to feed them at all today."

"Well, if they don't have to come out at all today, maybe they won't need to eat again. But I want them ready in case we want to battle. Right guys?"

"Bulba," Bulbasaur agreed. The rest of the pokemon eventually looked up from their meals to chorus their own approval of the idea.

"Oh, wait," Ash said, suddenly realizing something. "I almost forgot about you, Meowth."

"Me?" Meowth said.

"Yeah. We aren't just going to eat everything in front of you. Well, I didn't mean to, but I don't have any food for normal types." Ash scratched his head as he thought of what to do. "I guess I could ask Nurse Joy."

"Why don't I just have what you're having," Meowth said, pointing to the tray that Ash had picked up with the full meal on it.

"Oh, that's a good idea," Ash said. He went over and picked up another one, then sat down at the table. "Let's eat!" Ash said, before he started to himself.

Meowth looked at the food hesitantly before it began to eat itself. It eventually ate even quicker than Ash or the other pokemon, finishing before they did. "That was good," Meowth said. It looked at the pokemon, then at Ash. "Do you really feed your pokemon like this every day?" Meowth asked him.

"Um, yeah," Ash said, looking at little confused as to why Meowth would have asked that question. "I'm gonna be one of the very best trainers. I'll always give my pokemon what they need."

Meowth shook its head. Everyone got what they needed, huh? It thought back on Jessie and James. Those two really did care about their pokemon, but those pokemon didn't always get this kind of care every day. They gave what they could when they could. Their pokemon stayed in their pokeballs the majority of the time, so they didn't suffer from hunger as much as their trainers along with Meowth did, anyway. But this kid was able to act like it was a given that all his pokemon got to eat every day.

"Do you want more?" Ash asked.

"More?" Meowth said.

"Yeah, I know pokemon need lots of food because they use up lots of energy," Ash said.

So the kid thought of it as a pokemon after all, Meowth realized. "I'm fine. Besides, I don't want to be any more in debt to you than I am already from yesterday."

"You're not, Meowth," Ash insisted. "I'd have done the same for any of my friends."

"Hey, I'm not your friend!" Meowth insisted. "You know what my goal is when it comes to you," Meowth said, looking at Pikachu.

"Yeah," Ash said. "I wouldn't let you take Pikachu just because we're friends now."

"Pika," Pikachu warned its own response if Meowth tried anything.

"But you can't do that right now, right?" Ash said. Meowth didn't respond, though it knew it couldn't match even Pikachu on its own, let alone Ash's other pokemon. "So we can be friends right now. We can be friends anytime you want, Meowth! Friends help each other out. So just eat up if you're hungry."

What a simplistic way of looking a things, Meowth thought. Then again, it was still a little hungry. "Yeah, I think I am still hungry," it said.

"Okay. I'll get you some more, then," Ash said. He got up and picked up another tray for Meowth before sitting down and continuing his own meal.

Meowth's mouth watered as it looked at the food. Then it looked over at Ash warily. Ash was eating his own food while peering over at Charizard, his most unruly pokemon, Meowth knew. So, the twerp considered Charizard's possible misbehavior a bigger threat than the enemy sitting right in front of him? Maybe he really did believe all that nonsense about them being friends he was spouting out.

Thinking that, Meowth lost its appetite. Meowth would really just be taking advantage of the kid by just playing along with that. Meowth really didn't want to do that, only hang out with them until it could be sure it was safe to go back to the boss. Why did this twerp have to assume things?

Ash and his pokemon soon finished off their meals. As they were cleaning up, Pikachu looked toward Meowth. "Pikachu?" it said, asking if Meowth hadn't been that hungry after all.

"Not really," Meowth said, starting to clean up itself.

"Pika pikachu," Pikachu suggested Meowth might be hungry by dinnertime.

"Is your little buddy really gonna feed me by then?" Meowth asked angrily.

"Of course, Meowth. If you need to. Everyone who needs to will," Ash said.

There he went again, insisting everyone would get what they needed. Meowth recalled Giovanni's promise that it would get the basic necessities. Meowth had, at first. But later there had been times Meowth just had to be hungry and go without as well as other times that Meowth had to sleep outside in the cold without any shelter at all. People and pokemon didn't always get what they needed.

That was because the boss had wanted something from Meowth. Giovanni wanted Meowth to be both a faithful and useful employee. When it didn't fit the bill, it didn't get paid, and it didn't get what it needed. That was life, Meowth knew. This kid insisting that everyone would just get what they needed, that was fantasy.

The kid wanted something too. Ash just wasn't being completely upfront about it. He wanted Meowth to help him and his pokemon buddies out. Even though Ash insisted that he was just happy Meowth was alright after that incident, Ash was keeping Meowth around with hope that Meowth would do what he wanted. That's right, Meowth recalled, Ash had even said that Meowth could 'decide' what to do afterward. Everything Ash was doing now was just manipulative, a way to try and bribe Meowth into changing its mind.

"So, are you ready, Meowth?" Ash said.

"Yeah, sure twerp, just let me clean this up," Meowth said. As it pretended it was going to pick up the tray, Meowth instead flung the rest of the breakfast toward Ash and Pikachu. The eggs went all over Ash, while the pasty sauce that had come with the meal hit Pikachu in the head. Meowth grinned widely as it looked at Ash and Pikachu's bewildered faces.

"Pika!" Pikachu shouted.

"Hey!" Ash said, his expression becoming angry, mirroring Pikachu's. "You did that on purpose."

"Pikachu!" Pikachu said. It knocked the container off its head, then tossed it back at Meowth. The sauce splattered, running down Meowth's face.

Meowth wiped at its face irritably. Well, the twerp was soon going to reprimand Pikachu, it realized. Pikachu couldn't hide its dislike for Meowth, but Ash still wanted to manipulate Meowth, so he would force his pokemon to pretend to like Meowth.

Ash also grinned widely. "I guess it's a challenge, Pikachu," he said.

"Pika." Pikachu nodded.

"Nobody can beat me and Pikachu at a food fight," Ash said. He picked up some of the breakfast that had fallen on the floor, and threw it back at Meowth.

"Hey!" Meowth said, jumping up onto the table. "No fair! I've got nothing over here."

"Pika, pikachu," Pikachu critiqued Meowth's strategy right before it and Ash threw more food over Meowth's way.

"Cut it out!" Meowth shouted as Ash and Pikachu started to 'reload' with other food that was on the floor.

"Hey, you started it," Ash said mischievously.

"Pika," Pikachu agreed. "Pika pikachu."

"That's right!" Meowth said to Pikachu. "Your pal that cooks for you wouldn't be happy with what you're doing right now."

"Yeah, Brock would be really mad if he was here," Ash said. "So we should have fun while he's not here, right?"

"Pikachu!" Pikachu said happily.

Meowth was pelted again, the mornings egg now running down its head. Couldn't the twerp tell how annoyed Meowth was getting? Meowth tried to hide. Then it looked up. There were several trays out, probably waiting for any other trainers that might come in. Meowth leapt on the counter, looking at the fresh, warm food. It looked over at Ash and Pikachu.

"Hey, Meowth, don't use those. It's not fair to bring anything new in, okay?"

"All's fair in love and war, right?" Meowth said. It stood behind one tray, chucking everything it could toward Ash and Pikachu, laughing as it did. Before either of them could counter, Meowth grabbed the tray and hid behind a table.

"Meowth?" Ash said, unable to find him right away.

"Ha ha!" Meowth said, then peeked its head over the table, again throwing the food Ash's way.

"Hey! It's your turn, now!" Ash said. As he was about to throw the food, Nurse Joy walked in. Ash put his hand down guiltily. "Um, Nurse Joy-"

"What exactly are you doing in here, Ash!" Nurse Joy exploded. "You know how much work it takes to get this place clean and prepared for hungry trainers and pokemon?"

"Um, well-" Ash began guiltily.

"When you brought in that wild pokemon, I thought you knew about your responsibilities as a trainer. It's clear you need more lessons on that," Nurse Joy continued.

"I'm sorry, I just didn't think," Ash said.

"Yes, that's also very clear to me!" Nurse Joy said. "Now, be sure you properly clean my cafeteria so it's ready for any other trainers. I'll trust you to do so thoroughly."

"Yeah..." Ash said hesitantly, looking around. "I really am sorry, Nurse Joy," he said.

"Don't tell me. Show me," Nurse Joy said. She walked to the closet and opened it, revealing all of the cleaning supplies.

"Okay," Ash said, walking over and looking through them. He looked over at Nurse Joy who glared at him. Ash looked down shamefully.

"I'll leave it to you, then," Nurse Joy said before walking out.

Ash looked around the room. He dragged out a trash can, and Pikachu began hopping around, picking things up and tossing them in. Ash looked around. His eyes fell on Meowth, who just leaned back in one of the seats and observed him. "Hey! Meowth! Why aren't you helping?" he asked.

"Why should I?" Meowth said, shrugging. Ash needed it around, so Ash should be the one to do annoying jobs like this.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu said angrily.

"You were making the mess too, so you clean it up!" Ash insisted.

"Pika, pikachu!" Pikachu agreed Meowth just shouldn't leave them alone to do it.

Meowth's eyes widened. These two really weren't like Cassidy and Butch, sucking up to Meowth because they wanted something. No, Ash and his pikachu were pretty straightforward. Even if very superficially, they had reminded Meowth of Jessie and James. His two former partners were also straightforward, and always demanded that Meowth do a fair share of any work.

Meowth felt ashamed that it had often refused, or done so only grudgingly, acting like it didn't have to. What kind of teammate was it, to refuse to do anything it could to help out? If only it could see Jessie and James again, then it would help them with any sort of menial work with no complaints. Well, at least not very many.

"Oh, Meowth?" Ash said with surprise as they both threw something away at the same time. Then he grinned and clenched his fist. "Alright! Since you're helping, we can get this done fast."

"Yeah, sure kid," Meowth said, and began to wipe off all the affected tables. Ash and Pikachu joined it in the task.

"Okay! Now there's just the floor," Ash said. He took out one of the buckets and mops.

"Pika!" Pikachu lifted up the cleaner.

"Thanks, Pikachu," Ash said. He began to pour the bottle into the bucket. "This isn't enough. Pikachu, go get some more!"

"Pika," Pikachu agreed, scurrying back to the closet.

"Hey! Stop!" Meowth said. It ran over and grabbed the bottle away from Ash. "You don't have to use that much," it said.

"Hey, I still didn't fill up the bucket," Ash said.

"You don't really know much at all. You a little of this stuff in, then fill up the rest of your bucket with water." Meowth grabbed the cap, then pointed Ash to the faucet.

"Oh," Ash said. "Will that really be enough?" he said, looking at what he'd already poured in.

"More than enough! Haven't you ever even mopped a floor before?" Meowth asked.

"No, my mom does all that at home," Ash said.

Meowth sighed. What would happen to this kid without it around? Well, usually Ash had those other two humans around. Just like Jessie and James had Meowth, Meowth recalled. Would they get themselves in trouble doing something stupid without Meowth around to help?

No, Meowth thought as it watched Ash spray himself with water as he turned on the faucet. Even if those two did make some stupid mistake at times, Jessie and James were adults that could take care of themselves, not like this kid at all. Nothing would happen to them. Nothing had happened to them at all, especially not when returning to Team Rocket, they were valued members.

Meowth tried his best to put the questions out of his mind and simply believe the answer he'd arrived at. Looking over at Ash's work was one way to distract itself. "Over here," Meowth said, pointing at spots that Ash had missed. Before long, the floor as well as the rest of the place was sparkling clean and Nurse Joy had returned to inspect their work. "Well, it looks a lot better now," she said.

"Yeah. I'm really sorry about before," Ash said.

"Pikachu," Pikachu said. "Pika! Pikachu!" it said, looking toward Meowth.

Meowth looked over at Pikachu in surprise as it goaded Meowth to apologize as well. Meowth hadn't even thought of itself as part of Ash and Pikachu's little group in the first place. Before it could even consider apologizing with them, Nurse Joy had nodded. "Well, since you've fixed everything, I'll have to forgive you this time."

"Thanks, Nurse Joy," Ash said sheepishly. "For all your help, I mean. We'll see you later maybe. Pikachu, Meowth, let's go!"

With that, Ash ran forward. Meowth was again surprised, this time that Ash trusted it enough to even turn his back. Ash really was too stupid to try and manipulate the situation the way Cassidy and Butch had. In addition to their brown-nosing, those agents had never let Meowth out of their sight for even a second, Meowth recalled. Though Ash was trying to be nice, he still yelled when he was angry and made it hard for Meowth to keep up, more than easy for Meowth to actually get away. Maybe it really could trust this kid.

For all the good it did, Meowth realized. Other than the momentary protection, the twerp and his pikachu couldn't do anything to help it. They only hoped that Meowth itself could help them, and that wasn't happening. They'd throw Meowth away as soon as they realized that. Even if Ash was trying his best not to realize it at all.

* * *

Meowth, Ash, and Pikachu walked along the path before they started going off road, into the forest. "You sure you know where we're going?" Meowth asked.

"Yeah, I remember where they were hiding out," Ash replied.

"Pika," Pikachu added.

"Maybe?" Meowth said. "Come on! I don't want to get lost out here!"

"Pika, pikachu," Pikachu pointed out that the last time they'd gotten lost, it had turned out in Meowth's favor.

"Really, so you weren't looking for me?" Meowth asked.

"Um, before?" Ash said. "No. We just saw you and had to help."

Why did the kid have to be so damn innocent and cheery. It was kind of annoying. "There!" Ash said, pointing ahead. "I knew we were heading the right away."

"Pikachu?" Pikachu said, hopping on Ash's shoulder. "Pikachu!" it said. From Ash's shoulder it could see the landform that showed they were heading in the right direction.

"Let me see," Meowth said. It hopped on Ash's other shoulder.

"Hey," Ash said. The two pokemon together were a little heavy.

Meowth looked carefully at the spiky shape of the hill head of them. Yeah, that place might be hard to miss. "We're going over there?" it asked.

"Uh... Yeah," Ash said. "Can you guys get off?" he yelled. Pikachu and Meowth both jumped down. Ash took a deep breath, then grinned. "Everyone's gonna be real happy to see you, Meowth. I can't wait!"

"Yeah..." Meowth said. It believed Ash, but didn't really want to think about all the pokemon Ash spoke off being happy to see a pokemon they didn't even know. "We'll see what they have to say," Meowth said, nodding to itself.

"Yeah!" Ash said. "You're really thinking you might help them out, right Meowth? I think you will, once you meet them and hear their story."

The kid would convince himself of a lie even if Meowth tried to convince him of the truth, so Meowth said nothing. He just continued to walk along silently. Eventually they reached a small clearing in front of a mountain. A group of pokemon ran out of a cave to greet them. There were maybe a dozen in the group, including mirrors of Ash's own pokemon, even pikachu. Meowth noticed that most of them had a lot of abnormal markings.

"Hey guys!" Ash said. "Look who it is!"

As Ash presented Meowth, there was a chorus of speak, and Meowth couldn't really tell if they were happy or angry to see it there. Finally, the venusaur let out a roar, warning the pokemon they should all stay in the cave. They got back in, but stood near the edge, staring at Meowth. They didn't speak at all now, just looked at Meowth, Ash, and Pikachu on the outside as they were technically inside.

"I guess there hasn't been any trouble," Ash said. "There's no way to know. Only Mewtwo can tell me. And Mewtwo's not around, huh?"

"Char," the strangely colored charizard shook its head.

"Yeah, but you're forgetting that I am," Meowth said. "So just ask them anything and I'll tell you what they say."

"Um, alright," Ash said hesitantly. Though the other pokemon looked at Meowth warily, Ash kept talking anything. "Is there any sign of Team Rocket? How about your friends?"

"Pika!" the stray pikachu replied angrily. "Pika, pi pikachu!"

"It says that they're gone, and Team Rocket took them, probably forever," Meowth said.

"No way guys, you'll get your friends back. No one likes Team Rocket, so everyone's gonna help stop them! Even-" Ash stopped himself. He looked at Meowth. Meowth realized that Ash had been about to add it to the list of conspirators against Team Rocket. But the twerp hadn't allowed himself to sink that deep into delusion, and caught himself just in time, it seemed. "Hey, even Meowth agreed to come and talk to you guys."

"Pikaa?" the foreign pikachu said, scowling. "Pi pikachu." Other pokemon started to get in fighting stances next to it.

"Pi-" Ash's Pikachu interrupted to try and cut tension.

"Yeah, that's right," Meowth said. "I am that Meowth, the one that works for Team Rocket. Yeah, it's me alright."

"Pikachu!"

"Blastoise!"

Charizard let out a roar to chorus the series of hate against a pokemon that would betray its own. Meowth just smirked. Ash stepped between Meowth and the other pokemon. "Hey, it's not like that! I mean, it is, but... Yeah, Meowth said it would meet you and listen to you. That's why it's here right now," Ash explained.

"Pikachu." His pikachu nodded. Then it looked back at Meowth, looking wary itself.

This was some last-ditch effort of hope, Meowth realized. "Yeah, fine. You all can tell me what's the problem."

"These are the other cloned pokemon," Ash said.

"So are you guys engineered to be more powerful than the original? Just like Mewtwo?" Meowth asked them.

"Pikachu!" Ash's pikachu said that was something they didn't need to discuss.

"Pika," the other pikachu agreed with a frown.

"So what do you want to talk about?" Meowth asked. As soon as Meowth finished, it was bombarded by stories from every one of the pokemon. They were cloned by Mewtwo. When Meowth asked why, they couldn't give it a reason. Maybe Ash's idea that it was so Mewtwo would be less lonely held some merit. Mewtwo would be a little less of a freak if it could just conjure up some pokemon that it might consider companions. But the idea had backfired on Mewtwo. Any one of the cloned pokemon all appeared almost exactly the same as Mewtwo on the tracking device that Team Rocket had developed.

Mewtwo actually did care about its created 'friends'. So Team Rocket now had leverage against it, just with capturing one of the other powerless clones. Team Rocket had several, and Mewtwo was just trying to save them before it went into hiding. So, that's what Butch had meant when he'd said they had something Mewtwo wanted. That much of what he'd said was true, at least. It made sense now that Mewtwo was causing a big stink. Meowth wondered how they'd been hiding. The question was answered quickly.

Underground, the pokemon could be hidden from Team Rocket's tracking device. After being attacked a couple times when Mewtwo had used their own tracker against them, Team Rocket had either figured that out, or eliminated the clones they'd caught, they didn't know. Meowth felt a little sympathy upon hearing that. It still felt sick whenever thoughts of Jessie and James came into its head, though they were alright, Meowth assured itself, thinking of their situation instead.

Now Meowth knew the reason this conflict continued. Even if Mewtwo could just find a nice secluded valley far away and hide itself away forever, it wanted to get its clone 'friends' back. And even if Mewtwo was way too powerful for Giovanni to overpower, the boss had the advantage of having the friends that Mewtwo wanted back. The boss definitely had a plan related to that, Meowth realized.

"What did they say?" Ash asked.

"They told me the story of how the boss uses their friends to get Mewtwo out into the open," Meowth said.

"Blastoise?" another clone asked.

"Nope, I couldn't tell you if your friends are alright or not. I didn't know anything about this until you all told me. If I could tell you anything about your pals, I would," Meowth said, frowning. Maybe Team Rocket really was that vicious and unforgiving. These clone pokemon made things difficult, they were just eliminated. Human bodies of agents like Jessie and James who didn't play along were piled right next to them. Meowth itself would have been added to the pile if this little brat hadn't showed up by pure coincidence, and then saved it by mere luck. Meowth knew Team Rocket wasn't exactly good and righteous by everyone's standards, but that kind of thing was too much even by Meowth's own skewed standards.

"It's okay," Ash said. "We'll get them all back, right?"

Meowth wanted to tell Ash that they just needed to give up and cooperate with the boss, who probably didn't care about these clones so much as Mewtwo. But it couldn't even be sure that those captured cloned pokemon were even still alive.

"Pika," Ash's pikachu said, giving a brief tap on Meowth's shoulder. "Pikachu!" it said, smiling.

Meowth realized that its own upset was starting to show on its face. Meowth forced a pleasant expression. "Yeah, I'm sure there's still some way you can get your pals back," it said.

"Pikachu!" Ash's pikachu cheered.

"That's right! there's still a lot more you can do, so don't give up! We'll beat Team Rocket, and you guys'll find a great place to live, and it'll be great," Ash said.

The optimism of these two dolts was started to spread to the worn-out clone pokemon, Meowth noted. The pidgeot cheered and several others sat up straight. "Vulpix," another clone said. "Vul, vulpix."

"Pika! Pi pikachu, pika!" the clone pikachu eventually spat in anger as they finished talking.

"Pikachu," Ash's pikachu consoled.

"What is it?" Ash said.

"Vulpix and that other pikachu have a point," Meowth said. "Even if a lot of people out there help others, there's not enough of you that would be willing to go against Team Rocket just for some trainerless clones." As it finished, Meowth noticed that the cloned pokemon's brief energy was fading.

The twerp was pretty stupid to think he could just defeat Team Rocket in the first place, Meowth thought to itself. It also thought of its own experiences as a stray with humans that just didn't care. "They'll all just turn their heads if anything happens," Meowth began. "Unless a pokemon is valued by a human, it's worthless. Nobody thinks anything of abuse of stray pokemon. There's no one that cares about any of the pokemon in this cave."

"That's not true!" Ash insisted.

Meowth looked over at Ash blankly. It supposed he was going to start up with his optimistic views, such as how it didn't matter how little people cared. That these pokemon could somehow overpower not only Team Rocket, but an entire world of apathy.

"I care about you guys," Ash said. "Not just me, but a lot of other humans too! Even if it's not everyone, it'll be enough. So don't worry. You'll never be alone."

Hearing Ash's little speech, which did perk up some the face of some of the pokemon there, it only made Meowth angry. It wasn't even sure why it was angry. Then it realized why. This little twerp was just feeding these pokemon lies. Maybe he did care, and maybe he really didn't know he was lying. But didn't those kind of lies lead to the greatest deception? There was no way there were enough people that cared. There was no way those people who did care would continue to onto infinity. These pokemon knew they couldn't count on anyone else to protect their friends, and here was Ash, giving them false hope.

"Pika, pikachu!" Ash's Pikachu even agreed with him.

Meowth shook its head.

"And how about Meowth? When Meowth speaks out, even more people will get on your side," Ash said.

"Just stop right there," Meowth said. "Just stop with what you're saying, twerp. It's embarrassing even to listen to you."

"Pikachu?" Ash's pikachu asked why.

"Well, first off, I never said I'd help you guys at all," Meowth pointed out.

"Yeah. I guess you didn't," Ash said, shrugged sheepishly and put on a forced smile.

"And that's not all. You think if I spoke out, people would somehow be sympathetic? You're a piece of work, twerp. I'm not shy about speaking. I say things all the time."

"Pikachu," Ash's pikachu agreed with some amusement.

"You think people listen to me now that I can speak up and be understood?" Meowth shook its head. "I get the same treatment I got from before I even learned to talk, maybe even worse. The first person to listen to me was my boss. That's how I decided to join Team Rocket. I had a human I respected respecting me back, and that's not just something that happens all the time. I was going to do whatever I could for him, because I knew he liked me and would return the favor."

"Yeah," Ash said hesitantly. "I guess we've all done bad things. Things we regret, you know?"

"I don't regret anything," Meowth said. It looked over at the other pokemon. Ash's pikachu didn't looked surprised, but the other stared back at it with contempt. Meowth still smirked at them. "Yeah, there's not one thing I've done since joining Team Rocket that I regret at all!" it affirmed.

"But Meowth-" Ash began.

"It really is too bad for you guys," Meowth continued, nodding to the clone pokemon. "I know that. Maybe the boss could do something for all of you if Mewtwo just gives itself up. That's who you should be having a conversation with if you want a peaceful ending, not me. Because I'm not here to be some regretful sap!" Meowth finished.

Then it turned and ran. Ash and Pikachu called after it, but Meowth could tell they were no where close. There was no obvious path anyone could take, and Meowth doubted the twerp could track it that well. Meowth could run away without worry.

But maybe it did have some regrets, Meowth admitted as it ran through the woods. It had wanted to be treated well by Jessie and James, hating how humans had treated it before. So Meowth had tried to lower them to its servants. Meowth knew now that it didn't want servants. It wanted friends, true companions. Jessie and James had already been that. They'd treated Meowth with the regard it had wanted from the start without expecting anything in return, unlike Butch and Cassidy, or even Ash and Pikachu.

Thinking of Ash and Pikachu, Meowth climbed a tree. It spotted them easily from up high. Yeah, those two were lost already, and the clone pokemon couldn't leave to help. They were hiding from enemies that were far worse than Meowth.

Meowth hopped down and continued on its way at a leisurely pace. It could have escaped from these two any time it wanted. So now it was going to, and before all those clones starting attacking it for being on the 'wrong' side. Meowth would go back to Team Rocket, where it would tell the boss everything it knew about the traitors and Mewtwo's clone friends. Then it would meet up with Jessie and James, and after joking with them about all the scary things that had happened, would request that it could rejoin them as partners.

Meowth really did feel some sympathy for the clone pokemon. But those pokemon were mistaken if they thought that Meowth could be used for their gain, even if by some miracle people actually did decide to listen to it. After all, Meowth existed with autonomy, bestowed on it by the boss. It would support itself and its allies. Upon accomplishing that, Meowth would truly have no regrets.


	5. Meowth

**5**  
**Meowth**

Meowth had been wandering through the woods for several hours. It was now as lost as it had giggled at Ash and Pikachu for being. Well, they hadn't really been that far from civilization. There had to be something nearby soon. Maybe it had gone the wrong way, Meowth considered. Yeah, thinking back on when it had initially run away from the twerp, it probably had.

Meowth sat down and sighed. It just needed to find a phone to call the boss. That was all it wanted. Meowth couldn't do that in the middle of nowhere though. So it just sat there, giving its mind and body a rest.

A rest was what it needed. Meowth realized that it could just climb another tree to gets its bearings. It hadn't heard a peep from Ash and Pikachu, so they were probably long gone, or long lost, it thought with some amusement. Hearing something strange, Meowth climbed the tree again.

It was sure it saw human civilization in the opposite direction that it had been traveling. Maybe it should go that way, Meowth considered. But looking up, Meowth spotted a helicopter labeled with the bright red "R" landing in the distance. Looking around more, it saw two others on the ground in a clearing nearby. That was where it needed to go, Meowth considered. Butch and Cassidy probably wouldn't be looking for it. If they were around, Meowth could just go into hiding again. Even if they were, they might not attack it anyway, not with other team members around.

Meowth walked toward the area it had seen the rocket merchandise in. Eventually, Meowth started running. It was so anxious to get back to its comrades. Would the boss be pleased with what it had found out? If those clone pokemon hadn't moved, he definitely would be! They'd watch until Mewtwo went back to visit its friends, then get the jump on it with plenty of leverage. Meowth just had to be sure to contact the boss quickly. The more time that went by, the more likely it was that those clone pokemon would move.

With this thought, Meowth pushed itself to move even faster. When it reached the clearing, it was out of breath. "Hey! Where is everyone?" Meowth called, momentarily not caring about any possible danger. The caution returned to it soon, and it stood completely still, looking and listening for anyone who might be around.

There was only dead silence. After a few seconds ticked by, a breeze blew through. Since the sun had set into twilight, it was kind of chilly. Meowth looked at the cold machinery, and wished someone was around. It approached the helicopter, thinking it could use the equipment to contact the boss. No such luck, all of the controls were smashed on both vehicles.

Meowth felt a chill, and was unsure if it was because of the dropping temperature or the spookiness of the abandoned rocket equipment. Maybe this had happened a few days ago, and the boss just hadn't cleaned up after himself yet. But maybe someone was still around. Meowth ran out of the room and looked around. "Hello? Anyone there?" it called.

Meowth looked around, desperately trying to think of where some humans would have gone first. It saw an area of land that looked kind of trampled, if not like a proper path, and ran down it. "Hello?" Meowth continued to call. "Can you guys let me know if you're there?" it begged for an answer.

Meowth suddenly heard a sound. It definitely wasn't human, though. This was the sound of something large being flung through the air. Meowth looked around and found the source. It hadn't been an object, either. There was the pokemon of the hour, Mewtwo, standing there, Meowth's Team Rocket teammates cowering around it. There was no way Meowth could capture it either. It just looked up at Mewtwo, knowing it would be unable to hide.

"Speak up," Mewtwo said, unmistakably addressing Meowth.

"W-well, that would be kind of hard," Meowth said. "You see-"

"So it is you, just as I suspected," Mewtwo said. It moved its hand to the side, and then forced Meowth to rise above the ground.

"Hey! Wait!" Meowth said in a panic, though Mewtwo's psychic hold didn't exactly hurt. Meowth was surprised just how easily Mewtwo handled it, lifting it further and further above the ground until they were in the sky. With Mewtwo's psychic power, the two of them flew forward at an unbelievable speed, not even the wind touching them. It could have been fun, except Meowth was so frightened it only shouted as they flew.

Mewtwo eventually found where it had wanted to take them. They went underground, in a cave. Meowth was even more apprehensive, now in the pitch black. It couldn't control where it was going. Mewtwo was the one doing that. Meowth only shouted more, sure that they'd run into something.

But they didn't, instead reaching an area of the cave where some light shone. A fire was going. Mewtwo released Meowth from its psychic hold, and Meowth fell on the ground. It could now feel the cold air of the cave, as well as the warmth emanating from the small fire. Meowth looked around, and didn't see much else there. It looked at Mewtwo, who now stood in front of it. There had to have been a reason Mewtwo had brought it here.

"So, Mewtwo. Do you think I'll help you or something?" Meowth asked. It definitely wouldn't, Meowth told itself. But it wasn't going to tell the boss's powerful pokemon that the same way it had told Ash. Mewtwo's reactions were an unknown.

"No," Mewtwo said. "I don't expect that at all. Though my friends disagree, I don't think you speaking out would do me any good. Even if such a thing would be beneficial, you wouldn't help me, would you?"

Meowth nodded, confirming what Mewtwo had just said. This pokemon wasn't like Ash. It had figured out the truth right away, and just calmly stated it. But knowing that was the truth, why did Mewtwo even have Meowth there in the first place? "So, what's your angle with bringing me there, then?" Meowth decided to ask.

"I am willing to indulge the hopes of my fellow pokemon," Mewtwo said. "I know I'm not the right pokemon to speak to humans, and I know you'd be no good to us, either, considering the position you held in Team Rocket. But perhaps another like yourself could properly test if humans would consider the common pokemon's perspective."

Meowth tried to properly consider what Mewtwo was saying, but then heard a sound. It was definitely a pokemon, and a creepy one at that. This pokemon howled, and then another screeched. "What's that out there?" Meowth asked worriedly.

Mewtwo ignored it. "Come back over here," Mewtwo said instead, putting out its hand. Meowth could tell that Mewtwo was using psychic powers to draw out another pokemon, and looked in the direction that Mewtwo was facing.

Eventually, some eyes appeared, reflecting the light of the fire. Meowth jumped back in fright, startled at the sight. Then Meowth took a closer look at which pokemon it was. It was just another meowth. "Meow! Meooow!" the other meowth howled, complaining about how Mewtwo just should have waited a few more minutes for it to finish playing with the zubat.

Meowth relaxed. So that's what it had heard in the dark there. Another meowth, and some zubat besides. Knowing this, Meowth was now able to consider just what Mewtwo was thinking. "So, what's this other meowth for?" Meowth asked, though it could easily guess.

"This is your clone," Mewtwo said.

Meowth did a double take on that. Both it and its clone looked at each other curiously. The clone meowth sat properly, using all four legs. It also had yowled in a way that reminded Meowth of Giovanni's persian. They didn't really have much in common, Meowth noted, its brief curiosity satisfied. An exact clone of itself hadn't been exactly what Meowth had expected, though it could guess what was coming next.

Meowth looked over at Mewtwo, who confirmed its suspicions. "Since it's your clone, you should be to teach it the same abilities as yourself. Correct?"

Meowth shook its head. "How do you think I learned how to talk myself? You think someone taught me?"

"You should be able to figure out a way to repeat whatever happened with you with your clone, shouldn't you?" Mewtwo said.

"Hey bud, it wasn't that simple. I can't just teach it. Do you really think this guy can do something so complicated, anyway?" Meowth said. As it spoke, its clone casually scratched itself, then peered into the darkness, looking for the next zubat to play fight with.

"I'll ask you try," Mewtwo said.

"Oh?" Meowth said. It wasn't ready to follow Mewtwo's requests, but that didn't even have to be the point here. "So, your buddy here's all ready to learn from me, is it?" Meowth asked.

Mewtwo turned to the clone meowth. "You are ready to support us in this way, aren't you?" Mewtwo asked.

"Meow," Meowth's clone yowled happily in response. "Meow..." it added afterward softly, frowning.

So, Meowth realized, its clone wanted to 'help', but was unsure it was up to the challenge at all. "I see," Mewtwo said, also understanding. "Well Meowth," it began, addressing the clone. "If you're hesitant to face this challenge now, I wouldn't force you to. But know your destiny has been decided by who you're a clone of."

"Really?" Meowth said. "So, since it was decided that you'd be the boss's pokemon before you were born, you should really go crawling back to him right now, shouldn't you? The only reason you were created was to help him, you know."

"Don't compare this situation to that," Mewtwo said, some anger apparent in its voice. "Meowth and myself will both make our own decisions, despite destiny."

"What about me?" Meowth said. "Just because this clone meowth is your buddy, it gets to choose, but I don't? How hypocritical are you? Thinking of pokemon's choices in life only if they're your friends." Meowth looked at Mewtwo. It didn't really want to push too much, just in case Mewtwo was the type to go ballistic when angry.

"I'd only ask you to try, but since Meowth here doesn't want to, there's no point in discussing this any further," Mewtwo said. "If Meowth changes its mind in the near future, I may ask for your help again."

"Don't bother," Meowth said. "There's no pokemon's that motivated like I was. Every other pokemon I meet just wants to live as a pokemon, and doesn't think about what it might be like to be more like a human. Even your pal here, right?" Meowth turned to its clone. "You wouldn't have even thought about learning to talk if they didn't suggest it to you, right?"

"Meow," Meowth's clone confirmed.

"Yeah. Maybe another pokemon could learn these skills like me. Maybe there's more like me out there, I don't know. I just know I can't teach the motivation I had," Meowth said.

"I see," Mewtwo said. "Hmph. Maybe you're more like myself than Meowth here."

"What do you mean?" Meowth asked.

"What you are now is how you were created, not born. Even if that creation is despicable, you've been able to outline your destiny yourself, haven't you?"

"Yeah, that's a good way to put it," Meowth said.

"I understand now. I doubt it would be enough for my fellow clones, but your story does provide me with hope," Mewtwo said.

Meowth shrugged. "So, can you let me out of this place then?" it asked.

Mewtwo nodded. "Right after we deal with the matter of your memory."

Meowth realized what Mewtwo was talking about right away. They'd met before, and Mewtwo, a psychic type pokemon, had stolen Meowth's important memories away. How much memory would Mewtwo take this time? Meowth recalled a blackout that it, along with Jessie and James had a little while ago. That had been Mewtwo's doing, Meowth realized. They'd had a good feeling that went along with it, but the loss of memory had been a problem. It was disorienting.

Now it would be an even bigger one. Meowth couldn't allow Mewtwo to carelessly rip away at its memories. It couldn't just forget anything about the past few days. It didn't want to forget about meeting those clones, and if Mewtwo went back even further, well, forgetting about what Butch and Cassidy had done might be fatal.

Meowth saw its chance when its clone looking into the darkness again. Meowth looked in the same direction, its eyes adjusting to the light. There were several zubat there. They had been shrieking, inviting the clone meowth back to play. Meowth itself ran into the dark, and its clone followed. It was then that Meowth changed its focus and attacked its double. A simple tackle attack would be fine to start.

"Meow?" its clone demanded to know what was wrong with Meowth. Meowth tackled it again. "Meow!" The clone struck back, slashing at Meowth's face. Meowth stuck again, mirroring its clone attacks. As they fought, Meowth only made the effort to mirror its opponent's moves. If it was hit on the right side of the face, Meowth would hit back in the same spot. They fought a few minutes before Mewtwo psychically separated them.

"That's enough of that," Mewtwo said. It dropped the both of them back into the firelight.

The cloned meowth licked its paw, and then looked at Meowth and growled. Meowth did the same, their growls echoing through the cave.

Mewtwo stared at the scene, figuring out what Meowth was trying to do. The two meowth in front of it both sat the same on their four legs, each beat up in the same way. The meowth that belonged to Team Rocket was easy to pick out because it imitated a human by walking on two legs and speaking human language. It couldn't hide itself that easily. "Meowth," Mewtwo began, addressing its friend rather than the rogue. "Identify yourself."

"Meow, meoww!" Meowth said, pointing to its clone, identifying it as the jerk that Mewtwo wanted to beat up. Meowth hardly had time to be relieved as Mewtwo took the bait, turning its psychic powers against the cloned meowth. It growled. Now Meowth had to make sure that its clone couldn't correct the mistake later.

"Meow, meoooow!" Meowth said, pretending to be its own clone insulting itself. Meowth pounced on the cloned meowth the very second Mewtwo had finished erasing its memories. The clone couldn't fight back, so Meowth wasn't too harsh, until the clone regained control of its senses, and in its confused state, fought back against Meowth.

"Meooow!" Meowth shouted, ordering the cloned meowth to get out of there in pokemon language. Since its clone didn't know what was going on, it did start to run away. Meowth went into the darkness and pursued. "Meowww, meowth!" Meowth shouted insults, pretending to be its clone not wanting any help from Mewtwo. When it caught up with its clone, Meowth became ruthless. It definitely had to go for the knockout.

Fury swipes, again and again. Meowth tried its best not to let its clone get a hit, but it was still a difficult battle. Its clone turned out to have the disadvantage. As Mewtwo dragged them both into the firelight again, Meowth didn't have to act to show its lack of energy. It was as limp as its knocked-out clone.

"Wha-what?" Meowth said once it felt the ground. It rubbed its eyes, then blinked and looked around. "What's going on? Where am I?" Meowth got up on its two legs as it saw its knocked-out clone next to it. "What was that about?" it asked. Looking up at Mewtwo, its eyes widened in surprise. "Hey! You're that... Um..." Meowth looked down, pretending it was trying to remember.

The act was over, more or less. Meowth could only hope that Mewtwo wouldn't try for a second mind-scrubbing. It didn't. Meowth found its eyes covered with something. "Hey? What's this?" it said. It shouted as it felt the same psychic force that had brought it into this cave take hold again. "What's going on?" Meowth shouted and it flew through the air.

Eventually the psychic force left it, and Meowth reached for its eyes, pulled off the leaves that Mewtwo had covered them with. When it could see again, Meowth looked around and saw the forest, and gave a gleeful shout of victory. It had won! It had really tricked that powerful pokemon.

Meowth grinned to itself, feeling elated. It stood up, having a rush of energy despite the weariness from the battle. Though not sure exactly how yet, Meowth would soon figure out how to take full advantage of all the knowledge these saps had given it.

* * *

It was still fairly early in the evening, but the darkness was disconcerting as Meowth walked along in the woods. It should just be glad to have survived the encounter with little injury. The injuries it did have were caused by the other meowth rather than Mewtwo itself. But Meowth still wanted to find where Team Rocket was, and reveal what it had figured out. How much longer would it have to wait to see the boss's pleased expression?

Meowth could see a flickering light ahead. As it walked closer and closer it realized that it was likely both from a fire and flashlights. The flashlights seemed brighter than usual to Meowth. It began to walk forward to the campsite, hoping to find teammates, or at least some way to get back to civilization or contact the boss.

As it walked up to the campsite, it saw that another light coming from the helicopter. It squinted to try and see better as the blinding light entered its eyes. It could easily see the 'R' on the side of the vehicle. Except, unlike the ones it had come across earlier, this one wasn't smashed.

"Hey! It's me, Meowth! You guys listen up, I need to contact the boss," Meowth said. As it poked its head into the helicopter, Meowth didn't see anyone else. Kind of weird, Meowth considered. They were probably nearby. It sat down on the seat, which was cold, making it seem like whoever had landed hadn't been there a while. But all the equipment was useable, still. Meowth went to the radio.

"Hey," Meowth began. "Let me talk to the boss." There were a few second before anyone responded.

"Who is this?" the voice at the other end spoke.

"It's me, Meowth! I've something important to tell him, so-"

Before Meowth could continue, someone reached over and shut the radio off. Meowth looked up. In the back, there were the two people it wanted to see least. Cassidy smirked at him. "And here we were just discussing how smart you were," she said.

"Yeah," Butch said with a shrug. "Lucky for us, you're just as dumb as your human partners were."

A shiver went through Meowth, and it leapt away as the two of them lunged toward it. Meowth went for the door, but as soon as it jumped out, Butch's primeape greeted it. Turning around, Meowth saw Cassidy's raticate. Then the two humans stepped out of the helicopter themselves. Meowth was completely surrounded.

"It has to be the right Meowth, doesn't it?" Cassidy said.

"You heard it talking," Butch said.

"I know, it just seems too easy," Cassidy said.

"So easy it should be a crime," Butch said. "I almost feel bad."

"Hmph. Things this stupid don't deserve sympathy," Cassidy said with a shrug.

"Yeah. Thanks for coming back anyway, Meowth," Butch said mockingly. "The boss wasn't that pleased when we let you get away before."

"Now we can dispose of you properly, just like the boss wants," Cassidy said.

"Fine," Meowth said. "Go ahead and do what you want. Just stop lying sometime before you're done!" Meowth said.

"Lying?" Cassidy repeated.

"We're maybe being just a little too honest," Butch said. "I just know I'd want to know what was going on if I were in your shoes."

"You two really expect me to believe that? I know you're lying! There's no way the boss would wanna kill me. Not Jessie and James either," Meowth said.

"Hmph. Those two dolts are certainly eliminated by now," Cassidy said.

"You just keep lying. Even when you've got me cornered like that, you won't tell me the truth," Meowth said.

"Didn't I just say we were being a little too honest?" Butch said.

"Yeah, you really are," Cassidy agreed. "But do you think that's why it came back? Even after all this, no, even after you shout the truth at it, it still won't accept it. It's really kind of sad."

"Shut up!" Meowth shouted. "I know the truth. You're both a pair of traitors."

"Traitors?" Cassidy said. Her emotionless expression broke into a smirk.

"That's you. You'll kill me now for whatever reason, and then think of some excuse for the boss, huh?" Meowth accused.

"No, we'll kill you now and then tell the boss we followed his orders," Butch said.

"That's right. The truth is that you're worthless to him. He thought you'd be useful before, but then found out you'd be used against him instead," Cassidy explained casually.

"I'd never let that happen," Meowth said.

"You serious?" Butch said. "Yeah Cass, I think it came back because it's so convinced that Team Rocket's some kind of big happy family for it. It still thinks that the boss will welcome it back with open arms."

"Hmph. The boss will be congratulating us, actually," Cassidy said.

Meowth let out a cry. It couldn't even think of a reason why traitors would want to kill it. Meowth wasn't that important to Team Rocket, after all. "But the boss wouldn't have killed Jessie and James, anyway. There wouldn't have been any reason at all," it said, starting to sob now. It was going to die, but those two would still live. Humans weren't as disposable, were they?

"I'm sure he had his reasons," Butch said with a shrug. "Just like how he has his reasons with you."

Meowth swallowed, and continued to cry. Its last friends in the world were gone, and the boss had never valued it in the first place.

"That's enough, really Butch," Cassidy said.

"Yeah, you're right," Butch said. "Hey, Primeape-

"Raticate-"

"You really are traitors," Meowth repeated. Even if it was doomed, it wasn't going to die in this kind of pathetic and broken state. It wiped its eyes, and looked around at the pokemon and people surrounding it. No, it wouldn't believe what these horrible people wanted it to. Maybe it couldn't think of a reason why they'd want to kill it, but it also couldn't think of one good single reason why the boss would want to eliminate one of his most valuable, loyal underlings. "The boss is going to be so pissed at you."

Cassidy rolled her eyes. "Bite attack."

Meowth wasn't going to just sit and take it. It unleashed its fury swipes attack, and then backed away, panting. "The boss would never want this. He's a good guy. He took me off the street and gave me a home."

Butch laughed slightly. "Primeape, thrash attack!" he ordered. Primeape punched Meowth again and again. "Yeah, Meowth, the boss is such a humanitarian. Always reaching out to those in need."

As Meowth was hit the fourth time by Primeape, it fell on the ground. "Not just anyone. But me, yeah. The boss knows that I'm valuable. He won't toss me away."

"He already has," Butch said simply.

That sentence along Meowth's inability to reject it hurt more than the fighting type attack that Butch ordered Primeape to hit Meowth with. Meowth fell back, and then Cassidy's Raticate tackled it. There goal was to knock Meowth out so they could carry it away and then just kill it later, Meowth knew. But it was more affected by the faith that it couldn't muster. That it was valued by its boss, and that the friends it valued were still alive. Couldn't it regain these treasured beliefs in just one second before it died?

Yeah, the kind of things that these two were saying hurt, but Meowth wasn't going to let them defeat it so simply. When raticate bit it, Meowth bit right back, then scratched it across the eyes. It stood up again, facing Primeape. Despite its injury, exhaustion, and other distress, it was going to stand up to them.

"Primeape, focus punch," Butch ordered.

Meowth ran toward Primeape, just as Primeape was running toward it. As primeape tried to hit it with the unreliable attack, Meowth dodged, then scratched Primeape in the eyes too. Then, it tried to run away. Cassidy and Butch both ran in its path, so it dodged, and went in the complete opposite direction.

Meowth ran and ran until it finally lost energy. Then it just leaned against a tree, staring out at the moon that was now in full view. This was the full moon that the kid thought he'd seen last night. Finally, the perfectly round shape on a cloudless night, exposing everything underneath it. The truth that Meowth wanted, that may have been revealed as well.

It had been doing a lot of running, Meowth realized. But it wasn't going to be anymore. Yes, these two might be telling the truth here tonight. That was a reality as Meowth absolutely didn't want it. But Giovanni had only showed Meowth a reality that it had desired. Meowth had always lived in the kind of lonely, harsh world that it just couldn't accept. Still, it had managed to keep living anyway. If this was the truth, Meowth would live with it somehow. Even thinking this, exhaustion started to catch up with Meowth as it paused to rest, and Meowth fell to the ground.

Butch had apparently reached Meowth first, and picked it up, Meowth too exhausted to counter him. "Hey! I've got it!" Butch yelled. He carried the pokemon back to the clearing, where Cassidy and their two pokemon were. Butch then tossed Meowth on the ground. "Just finish it off," Butch said to Primeape.

"I've lived through way worse than this," Meowth said. "Do your worst. My life's been so bad, I can handle anything."

"Do you really want those to be your last words?" Butch said. "What's been so terrible about your life? A little poverty? A little unrequited love? I've dealt with all of that, and I didn't delude myself. Team Rocket isn't a fairy tale happy ending, it's a last resort for people who can't do anything else. Just die already, you self-pitying freak."

Meowth shouted as Primeape hit it again. Yeah, valued by Giovanni or not, it was a freak. And yeah, maybe it did pity itself a little too much. Also, Team Rocket really wasn't that righteous of an organization, just like that twerp had so innocently pointed out today. As a group, they'd do horrible things like this. Jessie and James were dead, and Meowth would soon be too.

Fighting to stay conscious, Meowth had finally come to accepting all of this. It was also ready to give up everything else it was fighting for. It was all pretty meaningless, anyway. Maybe it could meet up with Jessie and James in the next world. If there was a next world. If not, it wouldn't have to exist in world where the closest thing that it had to family no longer did.

While waiting for the painful strike that would send it to infinity, Meowth instead started to hear a lot of noise. How irritating. Meowth felt like it was being kept up from a long overdue nap. Meowth had accepted that its end was inevitable, and just waited for those two to finally finish it off already. Instead, it only heard more shouting. So, others had arrived. Well, they'd just help Cassidy and Butch out with the job the boss wanted done, wouldn't they?

The final hit never stuck it. Meowth eventually heard some rustling on the ground. It briefly blinked, focusing on a set of human feet briefly before shutting its eyes again. Meowth could hear them coming closer and closer before they finally stopped apparently right in front of it.

"Meowth?"

Meowth's eyes openly slightly, then fully. It even forced itself to life its head up. "Boss?" Meowth said upon seeing the person that stood above it, blocking its view of anything else.

"So it is you," Giovanni said. "I'd been looking for you."

Why would the boss bother speaking to it when its fate had already been decided, Meowth wondered to itself. But the boss was speaking to it, just like Meowth had wanted. So Meowth forced a smile. "I got some... um..."

"Did you discover anything in the past day?" Giovanni asked.

"Yeah," Meowth said. In its current state, that was all it could say. It wanted to tell the boss everything it knew about Mewtwo. But then it remembered the reasons it should have reservations about that. As long as it knew something the boss wanted, it could continue to be valuable to him. Not speaking right away would preserve Meowth's life, wouldn't it?

"Tell me about it, Meowth," Giovanni goaded.

"Wait, boss," Meowth said. "Where... Where's Jessie and James?" Maybe it shouldn't demand to know that, since those two were dead, after all. It should avoid topics like that, including reminding Giovanni of how useless he'd decided Meowth was.

"You're not ready to tell me anything right now, are you?" Giovanni said. He turned away. "You two, take care of it, will you?"

"Wait!" Meowth said, feeling cold. "Boss, wait!" it begged, wanting desperately for another chance to convince the boss of just how valuable it was before Cassidy and Butch 'took care' of it.

But Giovanni was barely two steps away before Meowth was assaulted. It cringed, feeling the pressure around it. Then it realized that it wasn't in that much pain at all, other than being initially moved. Meowth could easily see in the moonlight who had picked it up. "You-"

"Meowth, you're alright!" James said.

"What made you think you could run off like that?" Jessie demanded angrily, though she still hugged Meowth just the same, tears in her eyes.

"Y-You guys," Meowth finished. It started to cry as they sprayed it with a potion, taking away all of the physical pain from the previous battles, their presence taking away all of the other pain it had felt the past few days. "You're alright," it said.

"Of course we're alright, shouldn't we be saying that about you?" Jessie said.

"But what happened? What did you do since-" Meowth began.

"We went back to base, and found out you were missing," James said.

"Cassidy and her stupid partner are pretty incompetent, aren't they? I should have figured she'd get you into something like this," Jessie said.

"You don't know the half of it," Meowth said. It could see Cassidy and Butch in the distance, surrounded by other rocket grunts. "Guys, I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have done what I did. I really shouldn't have said any of that, and I shouldn't have just run away."

"It's alright, Meowth," James assured.

"Right. Never apologize. Though don't think we'll be so forgiving again," Jessie said playfully.

Meowth smiled. Jessie and James carried it toward the larger group. Meowth could see Butch and Cassidy standing there. From their expressions, Meowth could tell they were scared. No, they were absolutely terrified. Cassidy and Butch were both shocked into silence, pale-faced, and even sweating as they waited for what would happen next. They'd been caught doing something they absolutely shouldn't have, the liars.

That's right, Meowth realized. Jessie and James were by its side. So they'd been lying when they'd said Jessie and James had been killed. That meant everything else they had been saying was a lie too. Meowth felt a little embarrassed that it had gotten so caught up in their lies. It even believed them, if only for a few seconds. But now they were revealed for the shameless liars they always had been. They wouldn't get away with anything. Meowth looked at them calmly, feeling safe with the presence of Jessie and James, as well as the boss who got right next to their group, looking over at Cassidy and Butch.

"So, what went on here, Meowth?" Giovanni asked.

"Things didn't really work out with me and those two," Meowth said, pointing over at them. "They were the worst partners."

"Yes, I can imagine," Giovanni said. "They treated you the same as an enemy, didn't they?"

Meowth nodded. Of course the boss knew that much. There were no enemies around, yet Meowth had been either knocked out or nearly knocked out, and these two were the only ones around that could have done it. Giovanni knew what had happened just from looking at the scene.

"I don't have time for this right now. You all take care of them," Giovanni said, motioning to the grunts around them.

Cassidy and Butch were taken away. Meowth didn't get to see any of the inevitable retaliation toward them, but it really didn't need to. Being surrounded by its friends, safe again, that was what it had wanted.

"What now, boss?" Jessie asked.

"Meowth, let me know what's gone on. Anything relevant, I mean," Giovanni said.

"I found out some stuff you didn't have time to tell me," Meowth said. "Like, you're keeping Mewtwo's clone friends as some kind of incentive, right?" Meowth said.

"Correct," Giovanni said.

"Well, I met Mewtwo," Meowth said. "I know where Mewtwo might be stashing the rest of them. I have two possibilities, anyway. Mewtwo itself is pretty quick though, so maybe it's far away by now."

"That doesn't matter," Giovanni said. "So you do know where Mewtwo's hideout is?"

"Yeah, I think," Meowth said. "You know, I'm not that clear to even where I am right now. It's a long story."

"We can help with that," Jessie said, holding out a map.

"We're right here," James said, pointing.

"Oh," Meowth said. It studied the landforms on the map, realizing it wasn't too far from Mewtwo's second hiding place, the one where it had only kept the clone Meowth. The other one was nearby too. "Yeah, I can help you find Mewtwo's little hide away."

"Good. Let's get started," Giovanni said. He then ushered Meowth and its teammates into the helicopter.

* * *

It was easy enough for Meowth to find the distinctive landform. Where Mewtwo had taken it was only just on the other side from where Ash had led it, Meowth realized. From there, Meowth could find the entrance to either cave. It explained this to Giovanni right before they landed and then ran around the edge with the other rockets. "The entrance Mewtwo brought me to was up higher, I think," Meowth explained.

"We can bring you there," Giovanni said. "Just let me know when we're nearby."

As they looked around, they eventually ran into a human. This late into the evening, Ash and Pikachu were still wandering around. Ash glared at them as soon as he saw them. "Team Rocket," he said hatefully. "Pikachu! Thundershock, now!"

"Pika CHU!" Pikachu announced as it let the attack free, shocking the rocket's pokemon.

"Persian," Giovanni said as he threw out his own pokeball. "Shadow claw."

"Pika," Pikachu said, falling back, though it still landed on its feet.

"Pikachu! Hurry, tackle that pokemon!" Ash said.

As Pikachu followed the command, more of Team Rocket's pokemon began to surround them. "Pika!" Pikachu said in surprise.

They were outnumbered, Meowth knew even this twerp could easily see. "Damn it!" Ash shouted. He looked at Giovanni with hatred, then ran toward him, ready to strike him.

Giovanni hit the kid instead, taking full advantage of Ash's momentum. Ash fell to the ground, clutching his abdomen. Meowth winced. "Hey, boss, he's just a little twerp," Meowth pointed out.

"Right," Giovanni said. "You two make sure he doesn't get in the way."

Jessie and James followed directions and both restrained Ash, each grabbing one of his arms. Ash wasn't going to stay put to easy. He struggled against the two of them, trying to get his arms free and when that failed, he started kicking and flailing. "Just stay still, twerp!" Jessie warned angrily.

"You can't get away from us," James added.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu shouted a warning as it saw Ash in distress. It began running over toward its trainer.

"Take care of this pest," Giovanni said. The other rockets began to shout their commands to their pokemon.

"Wait," Ash said. "Don't hurt Pikachu. Pikachu, stop fighting, okay?"

"Pika! Pi pikachu!" Pikachu shouted back at Ash.

Meowth knew it wouldn't do any side any good to translate, so it stayed quiet. Pikachu was damning Ash for giving up against their enemy.

"It's alright, Pikachu," Ash began as if he really understood. "Team Rocket won't find anything."

"Really?" Giovanni said, a smirk on his face. "Come on then Meowth, let's go find the hiding places you had told me about."

Ash's eyes widened as Giovanni spoke. "Meowth, you wouldn't do that. Would you? Would you?" he demanded.

"Yeah, boss, I'm pretty sure I see it up there," Meowth said, pointing.

Ash shouted out in horror. He was ignored. Giovanni pat Meowth on the head, praising it, then began ordering everyone else around. It was then that Meowth looked back towards its friends, who now still restrained Ash. The kid's young little face was all contorted in pain. Maybe he even thought he'd been betrayed, Meowth considered.

Well, he was just a spoiled little brat. He had a mother who cared for him and didn't even make him do things like wash the floor, and plenty of friends and pokemon at every turn. He'd never had to worry about anything. Was he so upset just because Meowth wouldn't do what he wanted? Meowth was a little sympathetic, since it had just been thinking that maybe it couldn't trust everyone it thought it could, either. But then Meowth remember that it had never mislead Ash into thinking it could be trusted, either.

Ash noticed Meowth looking his way. "Meowth," he began, though he wouldn't look Meowth in the face. "Do you really think you need to do stuff like this?"

"Yeah, I kind of do. I do what my boss tells me, and he makes it real nice for me. That's how the world works," Meowth explained.

"That's right, twerp," Jessie agreed.

"We'll help our boss with anything he wants us to," James added.

Meowth looked at Ash's young little face, seeing he was still absolutely miserable. He really might cry. "You don't have to," he said. He wasn't going to listen to them, so Meowth didn't bother to argue. Then Ash shouted again. "You don't have to act like this just to have friends!"

Meowth did turn back to Ash after he'd said that. Well, that kind of attitude, it was just a little selfless. Meowth felt a little warmer toward the kid, but still didn't regret what it had done. "Maybe we could have been friends if things were different," Meowth said. "But you wouldn't buddy up with a Team Rocket member, would you?" Meowth turned away, not really wanting to see the twerp's response.

Instead, Meowth turned its attention to current events. The grunts were chasing out all of the cloned pokemon. Charizard flew out first. The grunts attacked it with several spearow. After that, the other clones were chased out, first one, then another, and then all of them tore down that hill.

Meowth saw them being zapped by some kind of device, and turned to the boss who was next to it. "What's that, boss?" Meowth asked.

"It's a device that provides me with absolute control of cloned pokemon," Giovanni explained.

"Wow, you had something like that up your sleeve?" Meowth said.

"Of course. I couldn't pursue Mewtwo until I did. I wouldn't want it to just escape again."

"That's true," Meowth said. As the battle went on, he looked back at Ash, who had tears running down his face. He'd stopped struggling against Jessie and James's restraint, perhaps realizing it was absolutely useless, even if he managed to get away. It really wasn't like this kid not to put up a fight. Meowth felt a little bad to see it.

Before Mewtwo even arrived, Meowth was also sympathizing with it. Showing up to find out your friends were now under the control of the group you were fighting against, that might be rough. It could surely take on even all of these pokemon, but the idea that these were its friends acting against their will might be enough to make the powerful pokemon hesitate.

But Mewtwo had known all along what it could have done to avoid this, Meowth told itself. It should have known that the boss would do anything to reacquire it, and this was one of the things. Mewtwo had put everything in danger with its betrayal of the boss. With this thought, Meowth's sympathy faded. Neither Mewtwo nor its friends would have been in any danger without Mewtwo having betrayed Team Rocket. Just like Meowth had never been in any real danger.

Ash shouted as the controlled clone pokemon attacked the psychic-type traitor. He looked from side to side, to Jessie, James, and then Meowth. "Are you just going to watch?" Ash finally spoke.

"It is too bad we can't be the ones in the middle of all the action this time," Meowth said. "Right guys?"

"It really is," Jessie agreed.

"There's always next time," James said.

"And you'd better be there. Don't run away from us again, Meowth," Jessie said.

"Right. We don't want to be left out of the adventure next time," James said.

"No way! I know I made a mistake. You guys are my team. You're even kind of like my family," Meowth said.

"That's so sweet, Meowth! We missed you too," James said.

Jessie smirked in amusement. "Right. So next time we'll think of a plan together, and finish it up together, won't we?"

"That's right!" Meowth said happily. Yeah, it could look at certain people and pokemon here and hesitate about the decisions it had made. Both Ash and Mewtwo had reached out to it, after all. But Meowth had never asked them to. In fact, when its life had been had its worst, the only person or pokemon to reach out to it was the boss. Giovanni had given Meowth everything it needed, and even teamed it up with the kind of companions that it wanted. Happiness was right here. Reaching out to grasp it, Meowth wouldn't let anything get in its way.


End file.
